Let's Sail Some Ships!
by BiderSweet
Summary: This is a collection of one-shots dedicated to the less popular pairings of LoveLive! The readers get to vote on which ship I write about in the next chapter. The rules are stated at the end of each chapter along with which pairings have already been covered.
1. HonoEli

Dear whoever is reading this,

I'm Kousaka Honoka and I am in love with an idol.

It all started at the local Gion festival years ago. I was captivated by the various movements that the people dressed in colorful clothing performed. They were so graceful and whimsical, but there was one thing in particular that intrigued me beyond the dancing and the floats and even the food; it was a girl. She was so cool and pretty and kind. I wished to grow up to be exactly like her but Umi was right, I didn't grow up to be like her at all. I turned out to be this hyper-active, sloppy, mess, but this hyper-active, sloppy, mess remembered that blonde-haired beauty and she surely would never forget her.

My thoughts were consumed by her as I gradually transformed from a little girl into a young adult but I didn't act anything like an adult. I was still a kid; The same kid that tripped on her kimono and was risen up by an angel.

I wanted to see that girl again. I wanted to see who she had become. I was positive that she had a fully developed figure that put mine to shame. She would probably be much smarter and a lot more talented than me too. If only I could just meet with her somewhere, someday...

* * *

Well, my fairy-tale dream became a reality. She was the student council president at the high-school I attended! What are the odds of that? Actually, there weren't any odds because miracles like that surpass statistics. There was one problem though; I didn't have to courage to speak to her.

Umi and Kotori can confirm that I was a rambunctious daredevil who took risks and stood up for myself, and I still am like that, but not around Eli. (Kotori's mom told me that her name was Eli.) When I see her I sort of tense up, get quiet, and become a little bit intimidated. Also, for some reason, whenever the vice-president was with her, I got really jealous. I couldn't understand why I suddenly changed my disposition while in her presence and it frustrated me terribly. These emotions stayed with me throughout my first year of high school and advanced to the next grade alongside of me.

* * *

During my second year when I found out that our school might be closing down, I knew that I had to do something. As hard as it was, I pushed my thoughts of Eli onto the back burner to make room for the potential plans I must make to keep the school up and running.

It seemed hopeless though. I could not think of anything (besides Eli). Umi and Kotori also cared about the school immensely so they brainstormed with me but we still couldn't come up with an answer.

There's a saying that says, "You will find what you are searching for if you stop searching for it." I don't think that that's the exact quote but it was very relevant to this situation.

We gave up trying to save the school and it hurt us and the other students in many ways. We faced the fact that there wouldn't be any new students and club activities would be severely limited due to lack of funding. Worst of all, there was a melancholic aura surrounding the campus that lingered into the stairwells, the hallways, and the classrooms among many other places; in and outside of the building. And, I'm not sure if anyone else could see this, but when I looked up at the sky at any given time, I could see a faint image of what appeared to be a moon with a mean, hostile face. It was constantly creeping up to me, closer and closer as each hour of each day came and went. I didn't pay much attention to it because I simply didn't have the time to. Nobody would've believed me if I told them about it anyway. They'd say I was just imagining it which was probably the case. The evil moon did create a sense of urgency within me though. Like, if I couldn't revive the school quickly enough, that moon would crash into us, destroying not just my school but everything on the earth. I had to find a solution and eventually I did, and without even trying.

* * *

It happened one day while I was walking to school. I decided to take a different route there for a change of pace. Usually I take back alleys to avoid the hoards of people on the city streets but that day, I joined the masses. It wasn't pleasant at all. I bumped into a whole bunch of people and I almost got trampled over but it was well worth it when I came up to the corner of an intersection where tons of people were gathered. Above us was a huge monitor. It displayed three cute girls (they weren't nearly as cute as Eli) promoting their preppy school, UTX-a school that I didn't even know existed. These girls called themselves "school idols". I've heard the word "idol" thrown around a few times but I never truly grasped its meaning. After seeing the idols on the screen singing, dancing, and having fun, I instantly knew what I needed to do. I would become an idol and promote our school just like those girls were doing.

At first, Umi and Kotori were opposed to the idea but I convinced them to give it a chance. Before we knew it, our idol group had 7 amazing and unique members but still, something seemed off. I mean, we weren't awful at what we were doing but there was definitely an element or two missing. I brought this up to everyone and they thought the same thing. We came to the conclusion that we needed more members. The first person that popped into my mind was Eli. She'd fit right in, no doubt. There was a rumor that she used to do competitive dancing and I believed it. I saw her dancing at the Gion festival a long time ago so there was some proof. She was mesmerizing. I couldn't keep my eyes off while she was dancing and I still couldn't to this day. She would be a perfect addition to our rather amateurish team but there was an obstacle in the way. Nobody could figure out a good way to approach her.

Eli was known to be cold to people she wasn't acquainted with so naturally it would be nerve-racking just to do something as simple as saying, "good morning" to her. Asking her to join some random club full of strange girls was just a recipe for rejection but my 6 other eager companions voted me to be their leader so that meant I would be the person who would have to confront Eli.

* * *

Here I was, in front of the door where my destiny awaited. It felt like I was about to face a boss in a video game, the only difference being that I didn't have the option to create a save file in case I screwed up. Life doesn't have a reset button.

Slowly, I opened the door to the dragon's den. My heart rate increased with each breath I took as I walked into the room and shut the door behind me just as quietly as I did when I opened it. Eli didn't notice me. She was too occupied with paperwork. The vice-president, Nozomi-senpai, wasn't in the room at the time. I guess she comes and goes as she pleases. I envied her for having so many opportunities to be with Eli. Sometimes I wondered if they had a special sort of relationship. I hoped not. I wanted Eli all to myself. I knew that was a greedy mindset but at that moment, I could care less.

For a few minutes, I hid behind a potted plant and marveled at her radiance. The sunshine leaking from the window complimented her golden hair and porcelain white skin that I wanted to touch it so badly. Out of lust, I pursued my passion by getting in the prone position and crawling on the floor until I was behind the chair she was sitting in. I had no sense of reason or rationality whatsoever as I sprung up off of the ground and wrapped my arms around her from behind so she couldn't see who was hugging her. She thought it was Nozomi doing it but nope, it was me.

This uncontrollable burning fire within possessed me and I acted out my desires. I bit her neck and removed her hair tie so that I could have a blanket of silky hair flow over me. I would've done so much more to her but that fire I had a moment ago died out and I came back to my senses.

"What just happened!?" I yelled in astonishment. Eli should have been the one saying this but she just answered with, "Well... you left a mark on my neck and unraveled my hair." Eli said this in a serious tone of voice with a mature composure but I indicated a slight blush on her cheeks.

I apologized profusely and told her that I couldn't help myself. She was very understanding about it, surprisingly. My predicted outcome was a smack in the face but the actual outcome was smack on the lips! Yeah, I'm not kidding. She kissed me!

Apparently she gets confessed to a lot; so much that she devised a plan: When a girl declared their love to her, she would just kiss them and send them away as a form of rejection. She thought of it as a way to reward the girl for having the willpower to confess to her. Honestly, I couldn't tell if that was clever or cruel... Probably both.

* * *

Anyway, I got myself under control and had a conversation with her that went something like this:

H: Um, hi... Do you remember me?

E: You don't look familiar. Are you implying that we have met before?

H: I am. I remember going to a Gion festival a long time ago. I fell down and you helped me stand up and gave me my handkerchief that I dropped. Do you remember me now?

E: I've met many people in my life. How could I possibly remember every one of them? How would you even know that I was that same girl?

H: I just knew it was you! There was no mistaking it... but you're right. I'm just another passerby to you, huh...

E: Hold on, now that I think about it, I can recall a time when I lived in Russia and took a vacation to Japan. That's about all I can remember, sorry.

H: That's okay. I remembered you though. I fell in love at first sight.

E: Love at first sight? That sounds like some bad romance movie plot...

H: Maybe it does but it's the truth... not that it matters to you. Someone as brilliant as yourself deserves someone better than me.

E: Don't belittle yourself. It takes dedication to hold on to something like a crush for that long period time, thinking that you would never meet them again but still having a sliver of hope. I really admire that aspect of you. Oh, I never caught your name. Who are you?

H: I'm Kousaka Honoka and I am in love with an idol.

E: Didn't you say that you were in love with me?

H: I did.

E: ... but I'm not an idol.

H: Do you want to be?

E: No, not really...

* * *

Our conversation ended there. My 6 teammates who were waiting anxiously on the other side of the door invaded the student council room. Nozomi-senpai was there too. Umi informed me that they got Nozomi to join Muse and that she was the person who named us but Nozomi would only officially join if Eli joined. We were all on our hands and knees, begging for her to be a part of our pack of goofballs and she just sat there all confused and stuff. It was adorable. We totally got her wrapped around our fingers. She couldn't decline now.

I came up to her and hugged her again and whispered into her ear, "Eli Ayase is now a school idol... And she's my idol too." Then I gently blew a little bit of air and it made her squirm. Hehehe! She wasn't even mad about it.

And that was how I started my wonderful relationship with Eli-chan. **The End**

* * *

"Honoka, what did you just read to me?"

"A story that I wrote about us. Isn't that obvious Eli-chan?"

"Yes, but why would you tell me all of that? Also, when did you learn to use words like: 'profusely', 'astonishment', and 'melancholic'? Did you use a thesaurus?"

"I wanted you to know exactly what was going on inside of my head before I got to know you. And, which 'saurus' are you talking about? We've got the brontosaurus, and then there's the tyrannosaurus rex and-"

"Dinosaurs are irrelevant!"

"Uh-uh! They are a very important part of the earth's history!"

"I agree, but we're not talking about dinosaurs right now. We are discussing the story. Now tell me Honoka, did Umi write your story for you?"

"...Yes, but I gave her the basic material to work with so I helped a little. I also wrote the last sentence and the "The End" part so that counts for something, right?

"I suppose so but not that much. I bet Umi had a hard time writing this without freaking out in embarrassment. Although, she wrote 'Wild Stars' so maybe she was fine."

"Haha! Yeah, Umi's face was red the whole time. I kept asking her to write it for me and it annoyed her so much that she eventually gave in."

"Wow Honoka, that wasn't very nice of you. I'll personally apologize to her for this later."

"Hey, Eli-chan!"

"What?"

"Did you know that whenever I read a story that ends with, "The End", I imagine that some or all of the characters die right after I close the back cover; kinda like I'm squishing them to death. Hardcover books cause the most casualties."

"I didn't know that but I do now. I can never read books the same way again because of you. Thanks."

"You're welcome! Just so you know, all good stories end with a 'The End'."

"Your story ended with a 'The End'. Why aren't we dead yet?"

"Because I'm not done writing it. I'm looking forward to filling up these notebook pages with more memories of me and you until the very end!"

"You're so sappy."

"I know. I'm like a tree!"

"I already told you this Honoka but I'll tell you again; No more puns!"

"Sorry... Do you still love me?"

"Yes, you ask that question every day!"

"I'm just makin' sure we're on the same... page! Ahahaha! Get it, Eli-chan? Page!? We were talking about books and books have pa-"

Eli shut Honoka up with a kiss. She knew that was by far the best and most effective way to make someone stop talking. (At least in the world of yuri it is.)

Long story short; Eli and Honoka love each other very much. **The End**

* * *

**Afterword:**

For all you HonoEli fans out there, I have a little secret for you that you may or may not know about: There are some canon HonoEli things in the manga version of LoveLive! I actually borrowed the part where Honoka meets Eli as a kid but there are many more moments to be seen. The manga is super gay (as expected since the author of Strawberry Panic wrote it) and has some more mature elements than the anime (like an Umi shower fan-service scene, the use of profanity by some of the characters and just generally more intense themes). Warning: most of the girls' personalities are different to varying degrees so read with an open mind.

Okay, enough manga talk. I wanted to let you know that it took a while to come up with a plot for this chapter. My first idea was an AU thing where Honoka needed to raise money to bribe girls into coming to their school. To do this she needed to become a "harem queen" and have 8 under-aged girls in her possession to apply for a government "harem home". She'd get money from the government for living there and taking care of the other girls and then she'd use that money to bribe potential students. There would be side couples and HonoEli would be the one most focused on... (Don't ask how I came up with this because I don't know either. My brain has it's own brain I guess.)

Finally, you readers get to vote on the next pairing. I said in the summary that I'd post the rules at the end of each chapter so here they are: [Rules: 1. The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter 2. The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. 3. If your ship already has a chapter about them I won't make another one about them. 4. If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to be first again. 5. Guest reviews don't count.]

Ships already covered: HonoEli

(P.S: I included some Nintendo game references in this. Can you spot them?)


	2. MakiEli

"It's a shame that Nico couldn't come with us.", said Eli who was sitting on a train with Maki. They were heading to one of Maki's vacation homes for a training camp trip for their mini-unit, BiBi, but Nico got sick (or at least that was the excuse she made) so she didn't go.

"I'm glad she's not coming. I hate her guts right now."

"Ah, sorry... I forgot... You two broke up not that long ago, right?", asked Eli cautiously, hoping that Maki wouldn't blow up on her for bringing up Nico.

"Yeah, it was pretty messy. We can discuss it in detail when we get there. Then you can talk about what happened with Nozomi too, that is, if you're ready to talk about it."

"H-how did you know about us!?"

"We're a close knit group of girls who care about each other so we pretty much know what everyone else is going through. We were concerned because you and Nozomi were acting sort of strange around each other. Like, you were avoiding eye contact with her and you guys seemed pre-occupied with something and it effected your ability to concentrate during practice. Also, you two haven't gone out for parfaits in a while. After witnessing your behavior, we assumed that you and Nozomi either got into a fight or broke up. We're leaning towards the latter."

"Harasho... you're all so observant. You assumed correctly. We broke up. I'll tell you why later but for now I just want to relax and enjoy this trip."

* * *

"We'll be arriving in a few minutes. Do you have your suitcase and stuff?"

"Yes I do. Um, can I ask you something Maki?"

"What is it?"

"What exactly are we suppose to do while we're here?"

"I planned on writing some new music, practicing vocal techniques, and having a mock performance of our upcoming concert. The last one might be hard to do without Nico though, but we can improvise."

"Sounds good, but will we have time to do some recreational things?"

"Of course. What's the point of going to a snowy area if we can't ski or snowboard?"

"That makes sense. I used to ski all the time when I lived in Russia because we always had a lot of snow."

"That's a relief. Now I won't have to teach you anything so we'll have more time to play. I personally prefer snowboarding but I'm not very good at it. Anyway, since you asked me a question, can I ask you one?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"When you and Nozomi went to 'get parfaits', did you actually go get parfaits or...?"

"Eheheh, sometimes... but we always stopped at her apartment first to um... well..."

"I get it. I figured as much. You don't have to say anything else."

* * *

The train started to slow down as it approached a snowcapped station that had a cable car beside it. When it came to a complete halt, Eli and Maki hopped out of the train with their luggage in tow. There were a couple of steps leading up to the entrance of the cable car along with a wooden railing. When Maki grabbed onto it Eli accidentally touched Maki's hand while trying to hold the railing herself.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"

"Don't worry about it. I'm more worried about how cold your hand was. Do you want me to get you a pair of gloves out of my backpack?"

"No thanks, I'm alright."

"If you say so." Maki shrugged her shoulders.

While they were riding the cable car, Eli and Maki sat next to each other. Maki was insistent on making sure Eli's hands were warm and since Eli refused to wear gloves, Maki went and cupped her hands around Eli's to share her body heat. Maki didn't have to do that for very long because Eli's internal temperature instantly went up just like the cable car they were in.

"Looks like you don't need gloves after all.", said Maki with a wink.

Eli didn't respond. She was much too flustered.

* * *

They finally reached the top.

"Here we are. This is the Nishikino Lodge.", said Maki like she was a tour guide.

"Harasho!"

"Eh, it's not all that impressive. It's just like any other log cabin. C'mon, let's go inside."

When they went in, Eli marveled at the spacious interior of the cabin. It had antlers from various animals hung up on the wall alongside of some winter sporting gear. There was also a bearskin rug in front of a fireplace that had a good sized flat screen TV on it, a kitchenette, a sofa with a wooden frame, and much more. The place had a nice, cozy feel to it.

"You can put your stuff wherever. There's one bedroom, a bathroom, and an outdoor bath. I can sleep on the couch."

"No, I'll sleep on the couch."

"You're my guest so you have the privilege of having the bed."

"I'd feel bad then..."

"Geez, you're almost as stubborn as Nico-chan, but it a good way. How about we both sleep in the bed? It might be a little cramped though. Would that be okay?"

"That's fine."

"Great. It's getting kinda late so let's make dinner and then take a bath."

"Okay, what are we eating for dinner?"

"Well, I was hoping that you'd make something. I hate to admit it but I'm horrible at cooking..."

"Haha! You're cute Maki."

"I'm cute?"

"N-no! I didn't mean it like that! Well, you are cute... but no! I was saying that the fact that you can't cook is cute."

"I see... Thanks, I guess? I don't see how being unskilled at something is cute but whatever. Anyway, there are some ingredients in the fridge. You don't have to cook if you don't want to. I could just order a pizza or something."

Eli pictured a pizza delivery guy trudging through a blizzard with snow that went all the way up to his waist, forcing him to carry the pizza box over his head all the while having hail pelting his face.

"...poor guy."

"What are you talking about Eli? What guy?"

"Sorry, I was just daydreaming. I'll cook so you don't have to order anything."

"So you were daydreaming about a guy Eli? Huh... I can see you dating one. What's his name?"

"You're mistaken! I only like women! I was just thinking about how hard it would be for someone to deliver a pizza at this altitude."

"Oh, okay then. Um, I can help you in the kitchen now. I'll hand you the utensils and ingredients as you go along."

"Thanks Maki, that's very kind of you."

"It's the least I can do."

* * *

Eli and Maki successfully prepared the food and shared a nice hot-pot meal together. After doing the dishes they decided to take a dip in the outdoor bath.

"Ahh, this is so soothing!" said Maki as she submerged herself deeper into the hot water. When Eli removed her towel to enter in next, Maki got a rare glimpse of Eli that she was not suppose to see. Now she felt like a pervert for peaking and Eli picked up on that.

"Hey Maki, what's the matter? You look like you're feeling guilty about something."

"It's nothing..."

"It's something. No need to hide anything from me. We're a unit, remember? Now, tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong except for the fact that you think something is wrong!"

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"Maki, I already know what you did and I'm not mad."

"You're not?"

"No way. You were just curious. I'd probably do the same thing if I was in your position."

Maki dunked most of her head underwater and starting blowing bubbles with her mouth to avoid continuing this awkward conversation. When she came back up for air Eli said, "Didn't you want to talk about how you and Nico broke up?"

"Yeah, I forgot about that. I'll tell you about it. Okay, so, Nico and I used to fight all the time. You know that."

"All too well." Eli reflected on the annoying bickering the two used to engage in several times a day.

"It got to the point where we couldn't have a civil moment together. One day she hit me in the face and I hit her back. This continued until we were both bleeding pretty badly. I threatened to call the police on her and she left me alone."

"Ouch... That's awful Maki." Eli proceeded to give Maki a hug to comfort her but she didn't realize that they weren't wearing any clothes until after she gave the hug. Maki didn't care but Eli backed off right away.

"Wow, I totally forgot that we were in a bath!"

"It's alright. I actually liked it..."

"What did you say?"

"I said, 'It's alright'."

"You said something else too."

"I did not."

"So my ears deceived me then!? I swear I heard you say, 'I actually liked it' but alas, that wasn't the case." Eli said this with an emphasized dramatic tone.

"Fine, I said it! Please leave me alone now."

"I can do that but I was hoping I could talk about what went down with me and Nozomi."

"Go ahead then. I'm listening."

"We split up for a rather silly reason. She simply came up to me and said, 'The cards told me that it's time for us to see other people.'"

"Seriously!?", said Maki in disbelief.

"I know right! I wonder if that's really true or not. Either way, if her cards are more important to her than I am then it was probably for the best that we broke up."

"Yeah... This is kinda random but I wonder what Nico is up to."

"You still have feelings for her, don't you Maki."

"Not really. Sure, it was hard to get over her and I'm still not fully over it yet but it makes me feel better when I think about how terribly she treated me."

"That must be tough to deal with. Nozomi was never mean to me. She teased me sometimes but she was only kidding around. I thought we had a good relationship but then she threw this huge curve ball at me and left me in the dust. I don't understand it at all."

"I bet her and Nico hooked up.", said Maki as a joke.

"Wouldn't put it past her."

"I can't imagine them two as a couple though. Can you, Eli?"

"Absolutely. Nozomi and Nico are very close friends and I can see them crossing the line between friendship and romantic relationship."

"I didn't know a line like that existed. Maybe they think we're the same way."

"I don't know."

"Do you think that would ever happen with us?"

"Maki, I think the heat from this bath is making you delusional. We should get out." suggested Eli who tried to change the subject.

"My thinking is perfectly clear, but I'll get out anyway. The sky looks like it wants to snow too so going inside would be a good idea."

* * *

Maki the meteorologist's forecast prediction was accurate. A few hours after their bath, it snowed, and it snowed hard. The wind was picking up speed, creating a blizzard effect that caused a power outage in the cabin. This meant that all the lights were out. Since Eli was afraid of the dark, she clung onto Maki tightly while they were in the bed.

"Okay, I understand that you're scared Eli, but you're kinda hurting me.", wheezed Maki who was struggling to take her next breath.

"S-sorry Maki... I can't help it."

"I know, I'll start a fire in the fireplace and we can sleep out in the living room. How does that sound?"

"Good idea."

Maki held two pillows and 2 large blankets with one arm while the other one was around Eli's waist as they walked into the biggest room in the cabin.

A fire was now kindling. The crackling of the burning wood created a white noise that could help put someone to sleep.

"This is perfect! The heater isn't working but the fire will keep us warm." said Maki like she just made world peace. Even though she didn't, she gave Eli peace of mind and that was enough of an accomplishment for her.

"Here Eli, you can sleep right in front of the fire on the rug. I put a pillow and a blanket down for you. I'll be right behind you on the couch."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"What? Sleeping behind you?"

"No, sleeping in front of a fireplace!"

"It's safe. This one is specially designed to keep the flames in a one specific place.

"I'll trust you on this one but if I wake up with burn holes on my clothes, you're going to have to buy me new ones."

"Haha, it's a deal!"

* * *

Maki got comfortable on the couch and Eli got situated on the floor. They said their "good nights" and tried to fall asleep but neither of them could because they had so much on their minds.

Eli was the first to address her bout of insomnia.

"Maki, are you still awake?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I can't sleep..."

"How ironic. I'm having the same problem."

"Can you come lay next to me then?"

"I suppose so. Are you still scared?"

"Just a bit..."

"Aw, it's quite a treat to see the oh so mature former student council president act like a cowardly little girl."

"That's mean! You can just stay on the couch now. I don't want you by me if you're going to be rude."

Maki ignored Eli and slipped under the blanket on the floor.

"Quit acting like a tsundere, Eli. It doesn't suit your character at all."

"Tsundere?"

"Shh, forget about it. It's just some stupid word that means-"

"I know what it means. Nozomi calls you one on a regular basis."

"Does she now..."

"Yeah." Eli snuggled up against Maki endearingly and put one arm around her. The only noise that could be heard was the wind blowing and the fire burning. It stayed this way for a few minutes until Eli asked, "Maki-chan, do you remember that line we were talking about earlier?"

Maki was confused as to why Eli suddenly added "chan" after her name.

"The one between friendship and romance?"

"Yes, that one."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Do you think we could cross it together...?"

"I don't know how to respond to that Eli. Are you joking or do you actually mean it?"

"I'm being serious." , said Eli quietly while embracing Maki tighter.

Maki didn't say anything. She had a lot of conflicting feelings, mostly about Nico and the possibility of ruining her friendship with Eli if things didn't work out, but Eli was a lot different than Nico. She was someone who'd still respect the other person and continue being friends with them if something like that happened. (For example: her and Nozomi would patch things up sooner or later.)

"I wouldn't mind it I guess. I do like you and I find you to be very attractive but something is holding me back and I don't know what it is."

"That 'something' is the remains of the relationship you had with Nico. Those emotions may or may not go away but you're going to have to move on regardless."

"You're right, Eli-chan."

"You called me 'Eli-chan'. Does that mean...?"

"It does. I'll cross that line with you."

Maki turned over to face Eli and smiled and Eli smiled back. Now that everything was settled, Maki and Eli were able to fall asleep soundly in the warmth the their new found love.

* * *

**Afterword**

Who knew that Maki and Eli could be so flirty with each other? (I didn't) I thought doing a MakiEli one-shot would be difficult but I wrote this whole thing in one night. Bring on the next couple! My body is ready! Oh, also, sorry for making Nico and Nozomi sound like huge jerks in this. I love them too but I needed to use them in a negative way as a plot device. Anyway, here are the rules for voting again in case you still don't know them yet: [Rules: 1. The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter 2. The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. 3. If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. 4. If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to be first again. 5. Guest reviews don't count.]

Ships already covered: HonoEli, MakiEli


	3. NicoEli

"Hi! Would you like to join the Idol Study Club?"

"Uh... I'll think about it."

I tried to be polite, but in all honesty, there was no way I would join her club. Being the head of the student council, I didn't have time. Plus, I had no interest in becoming an idol. My years of dancing were far behind me.

The flier she handed me went straight into my bag. It stayed there for several weeks until I pulled it out while doing some organization. It read, "Idol Study Club: Join me, your future club president, Nico Yazawa, as we study idols together! Every month we will participate in spectacular performances to show off all the moves we learned while putting a smile on everyone's faces. I promise, we'll have lots of fun! Don't hesitate; sign up today!"

Somehow, she managed to gain four other members but they quickly dismissed themselves and in no time the "Idol Study Club" was down to one sole person. It was wasteful to spend resources on keeping a club like this active but since there were five members when it was banded, there was nothing I could do to stop her from occupying a room.

My job as the student council president required me to check in on all of the clubs to see if they were doing the activities that they claimed they'd be doing. Whenever I observed Nico in her club room, she was always on the computer browsing idol forums and websites. Technically she was following the rules since she was studying idols and she even put on these pathetic shows once a month that only a handful of people came to see.

I went to one of these little shows and was not impressed in the slightest. Sure, her dainty, pink outfit was kind of cute but otherwise, everything else was dreadful. Despite her clumsiness and mediocrity, something about her was really charming and she had me returning to the auditorium each month. Of course, I camouflaged myself carefully every time. Who knows what would happen if the journalism club caught wind that their student council rep attended something like this... Still, I took the risk.

* * *

It was again time for me to circulate around the school to observe the statuses of all the clubs. When I got to the "Idol Study Club", Nico was at the computer as usual but something wasn't right. I heard distant sobbing from where she was sitting. I didn't know whether to investigate or give her privacy but the inner "big sister" in me pushed me to go and try to comfort my sorrowful classmate.

"H-hey there Yazawa-san... What's wrong?"

She gave me the cold shoulder and turned away. I was about to leave the room but then she yanked my hand and I fell into her arms. My uniform was wet in a matter of seconds. Words were inappropriate to use at this moment. I let her release all of the pent up sadness that she had been bearing. It took a lot of effort on my part not to cry along with her but I sustained myself long enough to stay steady and be there for this unfortunate girl, even if I was just some sort of hug pillow to her.

When she seemed to calm down a tad, I wiped her tears with the sleeve of my blazer and looked her in the eyes; those quivering, ruby red eyes that held so much emotion. She was about to break down again but I didn't let her. I got rid of any distance that still could have been between us and squeezed her tightly her like I truly cared, which I did.

Before this day, she was just another student at this school that happened to be in my class but right now, Nico was my top priority and the weird part was, I didn't know why.

"Eli... How did this happen?..." Nico didn't bother to use any formalities. What was the point?

"... I don't know Nico."

She looked at me again but his time she had a very angry yet defeated expression. She said quietly, "I tried... Where did I go wrong? I thought they liked me, but one by one they left. Before I could say anything about it, I was alone... but you were always there. You watched all of my shows; don't think I couldn't see you. I pay attention to all of my fans, no matter how few of them there are and no matter where they are hiding. You don't know how much it meant to me that you came. Thank you... Thank you so much!"

I was speechless and very, very embarrassed. How!? How could she see me? It doesn't matter now. I doubt she had the desire to spread the word about my appearances in a state like this. I wish I could do something for her. Wait, maybe I could!

"You're welcome Nico. I really enjoyed seeing you sing and dance. Also, don't feel so bad. I had a period in my life where I did a lot of dancing but it ended horribly so I can relate to you. I really can. Say, would you like to be friends?"

"Friends? I've never had a friend before... What do friends do?"

"What do friends do? That's a difficult question. You know, I've never had a friend either. Lately I've been getting closer to Tojo-san who's in our class but otherwise, everyone else is afraid of me for some reason."

"Really!? I thought someone as cool and important as you would have billions of friends!"

"You were wrong then."

"Damn, and I thought I was always right... Well anyway, I'm not afraid of you. I think you're very kind actually."

"Why thank you Nico."

"Eli?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to join my club? I was thinking we could dance together."

"I'm sorry, but I gave up dancing a long time ago. Besides, I'm much too busy with my student council duties. I appreciate the offer though."

"Yeah, I expected you to say that. Can I ask you another question? You'll probably say no to this one too but I won't know unless I ask."

"What's your question?"

"C-can, can I..."

"Can you, what?"

"Ah, forget it. I'll just do it."

She did it alright.

Huh? What's going on? Why is my classmate kissing me!? She barely knows me! This isn't suppose to happen, but I can't push her away! That's not true though. I could but I don't want to. Why is that? Please stop Nico! No, don't stop! Actually, stop! Argh, this is so confusing!

Finally, for better or for worse, she ended it. I fell to my knees and she looked unaffected by the whole thing. Girls don't make sense... Oh yeah, I'm a girl too, aren't I.

* * *

"Nico?"

"Surprised?"

"Just a little..." Just a lot!

"I can explain. I think that you're so pretty and awesome and it's hard to say that to people since I'm so adorable and amazing myself, but you are almost as great as I am and that made me want to kiss you."

"So does that mean you like me like 'that'?"

"Hmm, I dunno, but I do know that I want to discover what friendship is with you so, can you forgive me for my impulsiveness?"

"I guess so."

"Sweet! From now on, I'm friends with the student council prez! This will really elevate my popularity!"

"I'm not going to be friends with you if that's the only reason you want to be with me!"

"Haha, I'm kidding! (sort of) I like you for much more than your social status. Okay, Eli?"

"Alright, Nico."

Wow, I've never met anyone quite like this kid. I don't know her that well yet but I can tell that she surely is special. She'll probably be a pain in the butt most of the time but if she can help me find happiness, then I'll put up with her. Maybe I'll even come to love her. Our future together has only just begun!

* * *

**Afterword**

**"**BiderSweet, where is that humor you're famous for!?" Well friends, it's coming (probably). Nico and Eli just seem like a somewhat serious couple so jokes didn't have much of a place in this short but (in the end) sweet chapter. Plus, I've been kinda down in the dumps myself lately so that could have played a part in this too. (Don't worry, I'm okay and so are Nico and Eli.) Just so you're aware, this chapter is in Eli's point of view which means I didn't put quotation marks around any of her internal monologue but you probably already knew that.

Let's open the polls for the next chapter's ship, shall we? Here are the rules again:

[Rules: 1. The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter 2. The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. 3. If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. 4. If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to be first again. 5. Guest reviews don't count.]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli


	4. NicoPana

Nico and the first years where in the club room when Nico had some exciting news to bear.

"Guess what! Guess what! Guess what!"

"I don't have to guess because I'm sure you'll tell us in a second..."

"Shut up Maki-chan! I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Rin and Hanayo."

"Does that mean you want us to try to guess what you're so happy about Nico-chan?", asked Hanayo.

"If you want to."

"Okay, um... Is it because you grew taller?"

"Oh, you noticed!?"

"Don't listen to her Hanayo. She's just as short as ever."

"Maki-chan! You always ruin everything!"

"I believe that you're the one that ruins everything. Remember that lottery a few months back? You cost us the opportunity to use the auditorium for our concert."

"If you hold on to the past, the future will never present you good fortune."

"What kind of quote is that? Did you try to make some sort of pun, too?"

"Who cares? None of that matters now because today, I won the lottery!"

"Don't lie."

"It's true, Maki-chan! You believe me, right Hanayo?"

"Uh..."

"Stop pressuring Kayo-chin!"

Rin spoke her mind. She hated seeing her best friend being caught in the middle of Nico and Maki's argument.

"I apologize on behalf of Maki-chan's rudeness Rin, but I really did win the lottery. I won two tickets to Live Love."

"Sounds like a rip off of Love Live... or some kind of porno shoot."

Nico covered Rin and Hanayo's ears.

"Shh! Don't say that kind of stuff in front of the children!"

"We aren't children!", said a defensive Rin who heard everything.

"Yes we are, Rin-chan."

"Oh, well... If Kayo-chin says that we are then we are."

"Great logic Rin.", said Maki sarcastically.

"Anyway, only one of you can come with me."

"Count me out.", said Maki right away.

"Good, I didn't want you to go in the first place. Actually, I was thinking Hanayo should come because her and I share the same love for school idols. She's the only person I can think of who would appreciate this occasion as much as I would."

"Really Nico-chan!? That would be an honor! I did quite a bit of research about this event yesterday and-"

Hanayo was rambling away. Meanwhile, Maki whispered, "She's like a different person when it comes to idols." and Rin responded, "I like her this way, too."

"You seem to be very knowledgeable about this Hanayo. It would be a pleasure to have you tag along."

"Wow, thank you so much Nico-chan! I'm really looking forward to it!"

"You better take good care of my Kayo-chin, Nico-chan! If anything happens to her-"

"Calm down Rin! Nico might be stupid but she wouldn't let something bad happen to a friend. You need to stop acting like an overprotective mother and more like my girlfriend."

"Aw, hearing Maki-chan say that makes me all jittery inside."

Rin and Maki were all blushy now.

"Get a room you two!"

"What does that mean Nico-chan?"

"Nico-chan! Now you're the one saying dirty things, you hypocrite! Rin is still a pure girl, unlike you."

"Hey, I'm a virgin too y'know! You aren't one though."

"What are you saying!? How would you know about something like that!? I'm not obligated to tell you this but I'll have you know that I've never done anything like that before."

Poor Rin had no idea what Nico and Maki were discussing but she didn't really care that much. She'll figure out what, "get a room" and "virgin" mean when Nico and Hanayo are gone. Although, Hanayo wasn't as innocent and she was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"S-sorry to interrupt but could you guys please not talk about this right now?"

"Ah, sorry Hanayo. Maki-chan didn't mean to upset you."

"Don't just blame me! You're part of this as well!

Rin and Hanayo left the room undetected and Nico and Maki yelled back and forth for a solid 10 minutes before they realized that they were the only ones left.

"We should seriously consider doing couples' counseling."

"Hate to break it to you Nico-chan but we aren't a couple this time around."

"Oh... but we could still probably benefit from it."

"Baka!"

* * *

**[About a week later]**

A shiny, red sports car pulled up in front of Hanayo's house.

"Get in."

"Nico-chan, you can drive!?"

"Yep, and this is my car."

"That's so cool! You have your license, right?"

"Of course! How else would I be able to drive a car?"

"Yeah, that was a dumb question..."

"Don't worry about it. Just put your stuff in the trunk so we can go."

* * *

Nico and Hanayo were cruising down the highway on the road to the Live Love. Their stereo was blasting, "Nico-Ni Nico-chan" (yes, Maki actually wrote Nico her song) when a pair of red and blue lights began flashing behind them and a blaring siren to go with it.

"Tch, it's the cops. Think we can out run 'em?"

"No! Pull over Nico-chan!"

"Never!" Nico stepped on the gas.

"Somebody, help me!"

Hanayo jumped in Nico's lap and took control over the car. She safely drifted to the side of the road, turned off the ignition, and put the keys in her shirt so that Nico wouldn't try to get them back. (At least, not without invading her personal space.)

Shortly after Hanayo stopped the car, a police officer approached the vehicle.

"Hello young ladies. What are you two up to?"

"None of your business, pig!"

"Nico-chan, don't say that!"

The brawny officer turned to Hanayo, pointed at Nico, and asked, "Is this little punk here your friend?"

"Y-yes sir. I'm sorry she acted like that. She's usually a really nice girl."

Nico just glared at the uniformed man. She dug herself in too deep to cause anymore ruckus. She didn't want to get arrested and miss the festival.

"Eh, I deal with kids like her all of the time. What is she doing driving a car though? She can't be older than say, 12 years old; that's why I pulled you girls over. I was gonna call your parents and let you off with a warning, but since you disobeyed the law by not stopping right away, I'm gonna have to give you a ticket. I won't send ya to jail though."

"Hey, I'm actually 17!"

"What!? Let me see your license then."

Nico retrieved her school ID out of her purse and handed it to the guy.

At first he didn't realize it was just an ID. He looked at the "date of birth" area and was stunned.

"You really are 17! Sorry ma'am - wait a second, this isn't your license!"

"Yes it is." Nico was trying to fake him out but it didn't work.

"This is a school ID. Do you even have a driver's license?"

Nico didn't answer.

The cop sighed. "Looks like I'll have to dock ya for driving without a license too... You two are going to take a ride to the station with me so I can call your folks."

"We can't! We have an event to attend! We'll walk to the nearest bus stop. Just send the ticket in the mail.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Yazawa-san... Hold on, you're Nico Yazawa from Muse! I know you and your pal. Hanayo Koizumi was it?"

"That's me." Hanayo was flattered to meet one of their fans, but the situation was awkward.

"I'm a huge fan of you guys. Because I like you, I'll drive you wherever you were going. Unfortunately, I can't waive the ticket and the car will have to be towed."

"That's fine, but we need to hurry.", explained Nico.

"Okay, you can sit in the back seat of the squad car. My buddy's inside. He'll get your address and stuff. I won't call your folks because I trust that you'll take responsibility and tell them yourselves."

"Yes, we will certainly do that.", lied Hanayo. They couldn't possibly tell their parents what happened."

After giving the officer directions and contact information, Nico told Hanayo that she got the car from one of Maki's butlers whom she had a good relationship with.

"I need the keys back."

"I'll get - ahn!" Nico put her hand down Hanayo's shirt to get the keys and "accidentally" reached under her bra.

"Woah! How come these things are so huge!?"

"S-stop it Nico-chan... If you keep doing that then..."

"Then what?"

"Just stop... please."

"Alright, but will you let me touch them again later?"

"What are you asking me!?"

"Never mind, I'll tell you more when we get there."

"Huh?"

Both police officers were eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Dude, are you hearing this stuff? This is so-"

"Knock it off; they're kids! You're being a pedophile."

* * *

"Is this the place?"

"Yup." said Nico with rosy cheeks.

Hanayo fell asleep a couple minutes after they got in the car and she used Nico's legs as a pillow. Having a cute girl laying on her made Nico restless. It didn't help that Hanayo moved around a lot in her sleep too.

"Hey, wake up, we're here."

"Yay! The rice is done!" Hanayo shot up instantly upon awakening.

"Rice?"

"Oh, it was just a dream. Too bad..."

"You're weird. Who dreams about rice?"

"Don't underestimate the power of rice! That's why there is a brand of rice milk called 'Rice Dream'."

"Never heard of it... Anyway, we're here."

"Where is our luggage Nico-chan?"

"It's in the trunk. I'll go get it... Oh my god! It's in the trunk of the other car! Now what are we gonna do?"

"Oh no, my rice is in there!"

"That's what you're worried about!? My face mask is more important."

"Boys, go get our stuff!", demanded Nico.

"I'm sorry but your car is miles away. We can't get it now."

"Grr... I'm calling our manager."

"We don't have a manager..."

"Shh, Hanayo! I'm trying to sound professional."

"Why?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Um, what should we do Nico-chan? I want to see Mutant Girls perform."

"Mutant Girls? Midnight Cats are way better. Mutant Girls didn't even get their mask colors right. They're supposed to be based on the Ninja Turtles, right?"

"Yeah, but at this rate, we won't be able to see either of them."

"Damn, we gotta go! We're gonna have to make do without our stuff."

"This is becoming a nightmare. I want my rice dream back."

"Forget it. All we need are ours tickets and some cash and I have both so let's get moving."

Nico took Hanayo's hand and dashed off. Hanayo looked behind her and waved goodbye to the police officers. She mouthed, "Thank you!"

* * *

They made it past the ticket gate and were able to attend several school idol shows, even their favorites, Mutant Girls and Midnight Cats. The Mutant Girls served the crowd pizza when they were done doing their show.

"That was amazing! Thank you for bringing me Nico-chan. How can I ever repay you?"

"Well, you can let me touch your boobs."

"Why would you want to do that!? Mine aren't special and you have your own."

"Ha, mine are a joke. I barely have anything there but you're stacked. What's your secret?"

"I don't have a secret... They aren't that great. They get in the way all the time."

"I wish I had that problem."

"I like you just the way you are Nico-chan."

"You're only saying that to make me feel better. You don't mean it."

"I have no reason to lie to you. You are cute and petite and talented too. I admire you a lot."

"Okay, if you like me so much then surely you'd let me-"

"Fine, but don't say it anymore! It's embarrassing. I'll let you do it but not in public. We should rent a tent or something."

"Sounds good. I'm excited!"

"I think you're the weird one Nico-chan."

* * *

Afterword

They rented a little yellow tent on the fair grounds. The lodging area was like desert because all of the tents looked like tiny pyramids. In each pyramid, there were people doing many different things like eating and sleeping and telling stories but in Nico and Hanayo's tent, something very lewd was taking place. They got carried away and couldn't face each other afterwards.

"How did this happen?" asked Hanayo. She could not believe all the shameful things she did.

"We just got wrapped up in the moment. Stuff like this happens all the time, although, the people involved are usually drunk. Anyway, this was only a one time thing so don't fret over it."

"But I can't just forget about it. It was my first time after all..."

"Then don't forget about it. Keep this memory locked up inside of you forever and look back at it every now and then to remind yourself of the crazy things you did during the height of your youth."

"That was a deep statement Nico-chan."

"I have life experience. Remember, I'm your senior. Also, I have a confession to make."

"Confession?"

"Yeah, one time, I messed around with Maki-chan like this and it was awful but I actually enjoyed doing it with you."

"That doesn't really surprise me. I mean, the thing about Maki-chan. Also, it was strange at first but I liked doing that with you too."

"That's good to hear. I was afraid you'd be mad me."

"Nope, I'm not mad but I'm a little tired. Wanna go to sleep?"

"Sure. Let's cuddle first."

"Okay, but let me get my clothes on."

"Nah, I'd rather you not."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, what would be the point? Just come here."

"A-alright..."

* * *

**[The next morning.]**

"A-rise and shine girls!"

Tsubasa from A-RISE unzipped Nico and Hanayo's tent door and let herself in.

"Scandalous! I knew you two were here but I never expected this! You can count on me to keep it a secret. I'm just returning the favor for the incredible eye-candy you gave me this early in the morning."

No response.

"Okay then, nice seeing ya. I hope you catch our performance later on today. Bye-bye!"

Nico and Hanayo didn't notice that Tsubasa was even there. They were too busy sleeping and dreaming. In fact, they shared the same exact dream. It was about everything that happened the day before but Hanayo's was slightly different. Instead of getting pizza after the Mutant Girls show, she got a nice bowl of rice.

* * *

Just like Hanayo's beloved rice, this was pretty steamy... Well, not really but for me it was. I can't imagine how people are able to write those M rated ones without dying from overwhelming ero-dynamics.

This chapter wasn't all that romantic but you can always predict that something develops in their future because it's possible. To me, Nico and Hanayo are fangirling friends with benefits.

Who do you want to see be cute together next? Vote now! There are 26 pairings left (correct me if I'm wrong). I wish I could do a majority rules vote system but that would be way too hard to manage so we'll keep the "early bird" rules which are:

[Rules: 1. The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter 2. The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. 3. If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. 4. If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to be first again. 5. Guest reviews don't count.]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana


	5. NicoUmi

"Umi, would you be able to write the lyrics for my next single?"

"I suppose I could do that Nico. Do you have any specific theme in mind for it?"

"I was thinking that it could be about a girl who's in love with another girl."

"I don't know if that would be a good idea..."

"Why not? Are you against that or something?"

"No, but most people are in this country. I'm just looking out for you. It would be awful if your fans turned on you because of it."

"Listen Umi, I may seem insecure sometimes but I stand up for what I believe in and this is a subject that I'm very passionate about. If my fans hate me for it then they aren't really my true fans."

"I understand. I'll try my best. For the purpose of more accurate lyrics, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Are you actually in love with another girl and if so, what kind of person is she?"

"Yes, I do love a girl and she's a very special one too. She's really cool but shy and weak-willed. She's also afraid of what others think of her so in the song I want it to sound like I'm singing to her and giving her encouragement to embrace her love for me without worrying about being judged by anyone."

"That sounds quite powerful and moving Nico. I'd be happy to write you a song like that."

"Awesome! Thanks so much Umi. I know you'll do a good job."

* * *

[Later, at the Sonoda residence]

"Who could Nico possibly be in love with?", thought Umi out loud.

"Nico-chan's in love!?"

"Kotori!? When did you get here?"

"Just now. I was in the area and decided to stop by. Do you want me to go home?"

"No, it's fine."

"Yay! Now, what were you talking about? Something about Nico-senpai liking someone, right?"

"Um, yeah. I probably shouldn't be talking about her though."

"I'm your best friend Umi-chan. You can tell me anything. So, what's going on?"

"She wants me to write a song for her."

"A song huh? About what?"

"About a girl she likes."

"She likes girls!?"

"Apparently, and I'm trying to figure out who it is."

"Any clues?"

"Well, she told me that the girl is cool, shy, weak-willed, and that she cares too much about what others think of her."

"Sounds like you Umi-chan!"

"What!? I'm not like that! She wouldn't like somebody like me anyway."

"How do you know? You're super pretty and intelligent. Anyone could fall for you, even Nico-chan."

"Don't praise me so much."

"Oh Umi-chan, you're so harsh on yourself. Give yourself credit once in a while."

"That's not the problem."

"There's a problem?"

"Yes, I don't know how I'm going to write this if I don't know who the subject of the song is."

"I have a suggestion: pretend that it's about you."

"That won't work. I barely know anything about who I am."

"That's okay, I know lots about you. Do you want me to list off some things?"

"Fire away."

"Let's see... Umi-chan is bashful, beautiful, stubborn, stern, realistic, talented, pure-"

"That's enough!"

"Alright, if you say so."

"Yeah, I doubt the song is even about me so what you're saying doesn't really matter."

"Maybe I should add 'rude' to the list too."

"Hey, that's not nice! I didn't mean for it to sound like that."

"I'm kidding Umi-chan. I have another one for you: sensitive."

"That's better than 'rude'."

"Hehe, well, I hope I was able to help you. I need to get going now. Good luck with your song!"

"Thanks Kotori."

* * *

Umi struggled to complete the song but after a few weeks and a lot of revision, she had everything completed. Now it was time to return it to Nico.

"It wasn't easy but it's finished."

"Wow, I'm impressed that you got it done so quickly. Can I see it?"

"Here you go.", Umi handed the lined paper to Nico. It was titled "Unconventional".

"Hmm..., 'I know that you're scared and I know you're afraid but trust in me when I say that we're okay. This is an unconventional love; and it's ours to keep so stay by my side when I go to sleep. This is an unconventional love...' The chorus is interesting. I like it."

"I'm glad. The amount of time I spent changing the words around was ridiculous but I'm relieved that everything worked out."

"It's as they say, 'writing is rewriting'."

"Yeah."

"Hey Umi."

"Huh?"

"Did you know that you just wrote a song about yourself?"

"You're kidding..."

"I'm not."

"So Kotori was right then. Does this mean that... you're in love with me!?"

"That's correct. I don't expect you to accept my feelings, at least not yet. Take some time to think about it and let me know when you found an answer. Even if you're ready to reject me (or accept me, but I doubt that's the case) instantly, I'd still like you to contemplate a little bit."

"Alright, can I ask you a question though?"

"You just asked me one when you said, 'Can I ask you a question?'"

"So this is your infamous 'prankster' side, huh?"

"Was that your question?"

"No! My question is, 'Since when did you start liking me like that?'"

"I'm not sure the exact date but I guess it was around the time when you, Honoka, Kotori, and the first years tried to scout me. You and Maki were the people that stood out the most. I could see that you two had the talent to create which is a trait I'm very attracted to. Compared to Maki, you're nicer and more physically appealing so I automatically gravitated towards you."

"I see.", said Umi as a way to show Nico that she was still listening.

"Then there was the time I observed one of your archery practices. I saw how strong you were and I said to myself, 'Man, I would love to have someone like her protect me... but I'm definitely not her type. She's probably straight too. I'll have to love her from a distance I suppose.'"

"That's a depressing thought... Hold on, did you just admit that your were spying on me!?"

"No, I said I was 'observing' you."

"That's just a more polite way to say that you were spying!"

"Fine, you caught me, but I didn't mean any harm by it."

"I forgive you Nico. Also, I never thought about what kind of people I like, not even which gender they are, so it's possible that you have a chance with me. With that said, please don't have a defeatist mindset. My friends tell me that constantly so I figured I'd tell you that too since we're friends as well."

"Aw, thanks Umi! That's another reason why I like you so much; you're a caring friend."

"I guess I am. Sometimes I care too much though."

"I wouldn't argue with you about that. I have the same problem to a degree, especially with my siblings, so I understand what you're saying. Anyway, I have some things I have to do right now but I look forward to hearing from you. You know, about your decision or some kind of discovery about your likes and dislikes."

"Okay, I'll try to come up with an answer for you soon. See you later."

* * *

"Kotori! What do I do!?"

Umi and Kotori were once again in Umi's room discussing Nico.

"First, you need to say, 'Kotori-sama is always right.'"

"I refuse to say that."

"Yeah, that would be pretty embarrassing."

"Want to know what else is embarrassing? Getting confessed to casually by your senpai."

"That's not embarrassing. That's flattering. I wish that could happen to me someday."

"No you don't. It's even worse because I don't have an answer for her. For one, she's a girl. I don't like girls... or do I? I don't really like boys so maybe I do like girls. That or I'm asexual."

"You're thinking way too hard about this Umi-chan. I get that she told you to do that but you're going overboard. If you keep this up you'll drive yourself crazy."

"Then what do you suggest I do?"

"I would go for it. I mean, it's not like you hate her or anything. Plus, Nico-chan seems to know what she's doing when it comes to relationships so even if it doesn't work out you'll learn a lot from her."

"That's true but I have one problem."

"What's that?"

"How am I going do things like k-ki-?"

"Kissing? Oh, don't worry about that. She'll take the lead with that kind of stuff. You could always practice with me, too."

"Thanks for the offer but I'll pass."

"Darn..."

"Don't act disappointed! That would make me feel guilty."

"Haha, I'm not disappointed. I was just trying to help you."

"I know. Anyway, do you want to sleepover tonight? I want to bake some cookies for Nico and it would be nice if you could help me with that. I'll even let you eat some of them."

"Sure, that sounds fun. Let's start now! What kind of cookies do you think she likes?"

"I don't know. That's why I want to make sugar cookies. They're simplistic so it's hard to go wrong with them. I want to cut them into different shapes too, like a heart or something."

"Cute! You can be really girly sometimes Umi-chan."

"Naturally, because I am one... and who said hearts are girly? Everyone has one."

"So you're going to make the cookies biologically accurate? How strange."

"Huh? I didn't say that. They're going to look like this." Umi put both of her hands together to make a heart shape.

"I love you too Umi-chan."

"You're being annoying Kotori."

"How so? You did that heart symbol with your hands so I just responded back but with words."

"Never mind, let's just start baking."

* * *

Umi and Kotori baked and baked. They made more cookies than they planned on making and they ate all of the leftovers. Since there were so many to eat, they got stomachaches.

"This is what regret feels like...", grumbled Umi in pain.

"Ugh, my tummy hurts Umi-chan!"

"Mine too. There's nothing we can do about it."

"They were tasty though."

"They were."

"Umi-chan, why did you make some of them shaped like letters of the alphabet?"

"Because, I could have someone arrange them into words. I'd say to them, 'I'll make you eat your words.' and then they could literally eat their words."

"You're so funny! It's rare to see you act silly like this. It must be because you're in love."

"I'm not in love! It's the other way around. Someone is in love with me."

"Hmm, I think it's mutual to be honest."

"I don't know..."

"Ah, don't fret about it right now. We just need to concentrate on getting rid of our stomachaches."

"I've noticed that the best way to get over a temporary illness is to ignore it."

"But that's so hard!"

"Yeah, but if you distract yourself with something else then it's not as bad."

"Then we should distract ourselves by practicing-"

"No way!"

"Why are you so opposed to it?"

"I would feel like I'm betraying Nico."

"You two aren't even together yet so it wouldn't count and it's not like we're dating so that wouldn't count either. It's just friends helping each other out."

"I don't really understand but if if you say it's alright then I'll go along with it."

"Oh wow, I didn't think you'd go through with this but okay. You won't be sorry. Leave everything to me. Nico-chan will be surprised when she realizes that you have experience."

"I sure hope I didn't make some horrible mistake..."

"What was that, Umi-chan?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Then come here. I'll show you how it's done."

* * *

Kotori showed her alright, but their little practice session ended early due to the nauseating taste of the cookies that lingered in each other's mouths.

"I knew this was not a good idea Kotori."

"I'll agree just this once but under different circumstances this would've been successful, which it was this time, but the aftermath was unpleasant. Also, I'm going to be blunt. You were not very good at it."

"Well what did you expect!? It was my first time and I was queasy!"

"Yeah, sorry for the harsh criticism. You'll get better in due time. I'm willing to practice with you again another day if you're comfortable with it but I'm sure Nico-chan will be a better teacher than I am."

"Thanks Kotori."

"Your face is so red! That's adorable! You can't handle much at all."

"Be quiet! You know how I am. Remember that time when we watched that romance movie?"

"How could I forget? You committed a deadly sin that day. You shut the TV off right before the best part."

"You knew what was going to happen regardless so it shouldn't have been a big deal."

"It doesn't matter! You still don't turn off someone else's movie on them."

"Whatever, I'm going to bed now."

"K, you have a big day tomorrow so it's important to get a good night's sleep. I'll join you shortly."

"Goodnight."

"Night!"

* * *

The following day, Umi woke up and went to school like she normally does. The only difference being that she had a little pouch of cookies stashed inside a crevice in her desk.

Nico's day, however, didn't start off so well. After first period, she was already beginning to dose off and there were dark circles under her eyes. Nozomi noticed that Nico was a bit off so she went to see what was going on.

"What's wrong Nicochi? You don't look good."

"I always look good. I'm the ever fabulous Nico."

"No, you look good but you don't look as good as you usually do. You seem tired. Do you need one of my rejuvenating washi-washi treatments?" said Nozomi while moving her hands and fingers in a menacing fashion in the air.

"There's nothing to grab there... Anyway, I haven't been getting much sleep lately."

"Anxious about something?"

"You could say that."

"Is it Umi?"

"Umi?"

"Yeah, don't you like her?"

"I guess, don't you?"

"I do, but you are in love with her."

"You're sharp Nozomi."

"Huh? I thought you'd put up a fuss and say something like, 'What!? Where did you get that idea from!? I'm not in love with anyone!'"

"I've decided to be more honest with my feelings. Things are running more smoothly now that I have but I'm still nervous about what she's gonna say to me."

"You told her already?"

"Yup, now I'm just waiting to hear her answer. I had her take some time to think about it. Doing it like that tears me up inside because I would love to know right away but in the end, there's more clarity for everyone when the other person is able to think things through."

"What a mature thing to do Nicochi. You really grew up these past few months. Well, mentally at least. I've heard somebody say that you can start to behave more like the person you like once you realize that you're in love with them. Maybe that's what happened."

"Nah, Umi's more childish than she appears and I'm the opposite way. I tend to hide this side of me because I feel more depressed when I act like this but I'm too exhausted to put on a happy face these days."

"Oh, I learned something new about Nicochi today!"

"Congratulations..."

"Cheer up Nicochi. Your future is bright."

"I hope so."

* * *

Both girls breezed/survived through the school day. There wasn't dancing practice today so Umi had a chance to bring Nico her cookies as soon as classes got out. She ventured through the third-year hallways and made her way to Nico's classroom and stood outside the door awkwardly with the treats behind her back. Nico walked out about 30 seconds after Umi arrived.

"Oh, hi there Umi. What's up?"

"I have a gift for you. I want to give it to you in a more private place though."

"A more private place?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. The present is just some cookies I made but I also want to talk to you."

"Okay, then let's go to the club room. Nobody should be there today."

When they got there, Nico sat at the table that Umi was cleaning off with a disinfectant wipe. When the table dried, Umi spread the cookies out on it. She took the letter shaped cookies and the one that looked like a question mark and sorted them out to spell the phrase, "Will you go out with me?"

After she did that Umi turned around in embarrassment and waited until Nico said something but Nico didn't say anything at all. Instead, she came up to Umi and hugged her from behind. Umi held onto Nico's arms and closed her eyes. They stayed like this for awhile and eventually, Nico spoke up.

"You don't need to ask that. You already know my answer. I just need to know if you're okay with this and that you're not doing it out of pity or because you feel obligated to."

Umi turned around and looked Nico in the eyes.

"Of course I wouldn't do that. I like you Nico and that's all there is to it."

"Really?"

"Yes. Please watch over me, as your underclassman, teammate, and now as your girlfriend."

"Haha, okay, but you don't need to be so formal with me."

"S-sorry..."

"No worries. Hey, can I have some of those cookies now?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you want any."

Umi remembered the events from last night and immediately said, "Oh no, I've eaten plenty of them already."

"Did you have leftovers?"

"Way too many. I couldn't help myself. I ate a whole bunch of them"

"That's something a kid would do."

"I know... and I paid for it too. I got the worst stomachache."

"Poor Umi. I hope you learned your lesson."

"You bet I did. Never again will I-"

Kotori let herself in to the room along with the rest of their friends.

"Hello you lovebirds!"

"I think you're the bird, Kotori.", said Umi.

"Nicochi! You did it! You courted your lover!"

"N-nozomi!? Why are you all here?"

"We heard the news from Kotori and we wanted to throw a party for you guys."

"So Kotori was twittering again..."

"What Umi-chan? I don't have a Twitter account."

"Not the social media site! I was talking about the verb. The definition is something along the lines of, 'a bird chirping fast'."

"You're so smart Umi-chan."

"Not really..."

"Yes you are!" agreed Nico.

"Stop arguing! We brought cake!", shouted Honoka.

"Ugh..."

"You don't like cake Umi-chan?"

"I like cake but I've eaten too many sweets lately."

"Oh... then more for me!"

Someone turned on Nico's new single that Umi wrote from her recent CD release and the celebration commenced. Everyone had a good time and pitched in with the cleaning up at the end. Then they went home and the only people remaining were Nico and Umi.

"We have great friends.", said Nico.

"We do."

"And I have a wonderful girlfriend."

"Me too."

Nico and Umi left the room hand in hand and smiled at each other. They silently acknowledged their newly formed relationship with contentment and walked home together until they had to part ways to go to their separate houses but they knew they'd see each other tomorrow and their love would still be the same.

* * *

NicoUmi everybody! So, how did I do? I took more care into writing this than the previous two chapters so hopefully there's some improvement. Okay, remember the song Umi wrote? (Of course you do!) Well, I put music to it with my keyboard (the piano kind, not the computer kind). Maybe I'll turn it into a proper song someday. Anyone want to form an idol unit with me?

It's time to vote on the next ship! I made a new rule: EliUmi will be added to the list of "popular pairings" because it's a popular pairing (make sense, no?). Oh, someone asked about threesomes. Yeah, I'm not doing them. That would be way too hard, sorry.

Here are the rest of the rules: [Rules: 1. The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter 2. The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. 3. If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. 4. If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to be first again. 5. No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) 6. Guest reviews don't count (they do for review purposes, just not for voting.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi


	6. KotoMaki

"I hate to say it but I think it might be time for me to get a maid."

In Maki's new, recently bought house, there were piles everywhere. Piles of laundry, piles of dishes in the sink, piles of papers, and just piles of clutter in general.

Maki wasn't used to cleaning up after herself so when she started living on her own, things got out of hand. It's not like she didn't know how to clean either. Growing up, she sometimes watched her family's maids do chores so she picked up a thing or two, except for messes. She never had to pick up messes, therefore, she didn't bring the habit of stopping to clean once in a while with her when she left the nest.

When she did try to clean, it took a very long time so hiring a maid seemed like the ideal solution. The thing was, Maki didn't have much money.

"I need a maid but I really don't want to ask for money from my parents. That would take away from this whole 'solitary living experience' thing that they wanted me to have so badly...", said Maki out loud while pacing back and forth around her living room, dodging the obstacles that were in the form of furniture, stacks of CDs, books, a keyboard, and lots of other things. She stopped instantly when her brain hatched an idea.

"Maybe I won't have a solitary lifestyle after all! I'll get a live-in maid and she'd pay her rent by cleaning for me. That way, no money would be involved and I'd just have to buy extra food and a few other things. Yeah!"

She plopped down on a stylish blue bean-bag chair, whipped out her phone, and went on the internet to look for a maid. In her browser's search engine she searched, "maid finder" and the first website to come up was one called "matchmaid".

"Sounds like a dating-site..." Maki hesitantly clicked the link to the webpage. It was an actual maid finding system that matched you up with the top-rated maids in your area. She scrolled through the many names of maids nearby until one stood out.

"Kotori Minami? It can't be..." Maki clicked on the profile for this familiar sounding name and sure enough, a picture of her old friend Kotori popped up. In it, Kotori was smiling brightly. She looked the same as Maki remembered, the only difference being that she had slightly more mature facial features, but she still wore the same goofy haircut. Next to her picture was a short description that said, "I'm Kotori Minami, Akiba's legendary maid! They don't call me that for nothing. I'm the quickest and most effective house-keeper around. I can cook, clean, do laundry, and complete any other household task with ease. Also, I am looking for a place to stay so I'll happily provide service in return for living with you. Thanks for your consideration."

"Wow, what a coincidence! I bet she'll be surprised to hear from me. I'm gonna call her up."

The phone number provided on Kotori's profile was now being punched in on Maki's dial pad on her phone. A few rings later, a small voice on the other end said, "Hello, this is Kotori!"

"Hi Kotori, this is Maki Nishikino. Remember me?"

"Maki-chan!? Of course I remember you! How have you been lately? You sound so grown up."

"Really? It could just be because I'm talking over the phone. Anyway, I'm looking for a maid to come stay at my house and I saw your listing on the internet. Since when did you become a maid?"

"I've been a maid since high school. You came into the maid cafe I used to work at once."

"Oh yeah, that was the time where you served Nico and I that heart-shaped drink with two straws. What were you thinking?"

"Nozomi, Rin, and Hanayo ordered it for you guys."

"I figured it was them..."

"Hehe, you two would've been cute together!"

"No way!"

"So Maki-chan, you said you needed a maid?"

"Yeah... I'm sort of ashamed to admit it."

"Don't be. Occasionally, there are times when we need to ask for help and I'm the perfect person to assist you."

"Okay, but I didn't know you were an actual house maid. I thought you were just a glamorized waitress."

"At first I was but then I realized that I wanted to become a maid in every sense of the word. I didn't want to simply continue to dress up as one; I wanted to be one. Plus, real maids get paid more."

"It's all about the money, huh? Well, you won't be getting any from me if you come stay at my place. You're fine with that? It's not like I wouldn't pay you but these days, I don't have extra cash to throw around except for outings once in a blue moon."

"I-I didn't mean it like that... Money is nice but it's not everything. I'd rather have a job I love that doesn't pay well as opposed to a soul-sucking career that runs you down to the point where the high salary doesn't even matter anymore. I'm glad that being a maid is both enjoyable and rewarding for me."

"I'm the same way. That's exactly why I don't have much money right now but I've never been more happy. The filthy state of my house is bringing me down though."

"I can fix that for you. When would you like me to move in?"

"The sooner the better."

"Okay, then how about tomorrow?"

"Seriously!?"

"Yup! I don't have much stuff since I live a life where I move from house to house quite often so it doesn't take me long to pack everything."

"Awesome, what time works best for you?"

"Whenever. I'll just let you know when I'm all ready and we'll go from there."

"Sounds good."

"Yay, I'm so excited to see you again after all these years!"

"Me too."

"Alright... Do you want to hang up first?"

"Oh God, I am not playing that annoying game! I'll hang up first."

"No no, I can hang up first."

"Nah, I'll hang up first-wait, this is just a reverse version of the 'you can hang up first' game!"

"You're funny Maki-chan."

"Bye."

"Bye-bye!"

_*Beep*_ Kotori was the first to end the call even though Maki said that she'd do it.

Maki noticed that she had a grin plastered on her face for most of the conversation.

"Was Kotori always this playful?", said Maki as she turned on the TV to watch the news.

"Recent study shows that people who talk to themselves regularly are more likely to have better love lives than their quiet counterparts.", said one of the news reporters on the TV. This made Maki question herself.

"Do I talk to myself a lot?... Yes, I do, don't I? And I ask myself questions out loud too. What could this mean? Probably nothing. The news lies all the time... Ah, I don't have time for this silly stuff! I need to get the guest bedroom set up for Kotori.

So, Maki did just that. Well, she tried to at least. The room was an avalanche of clothes that needed to be sorted and there were boxes everywhere.

"Geez, this is awful. How could I let myself get this bad? Oh well, Kotori is gonna have to sleep somewhere else. It would be rude to make her sleep on the couch so I guess she can share my bed." Maki blushed at the thought of sleeping with Kotori.

"No, no, no! Now's not the time to think about that! Stupid me... Hopefully having someone else around will keep me from being stuck in my head constantly."

* * *

The day came to an end and soon morning had arrived. It was the weekend and Maki woke up earlier than usual, like a kid on Christmas. She was equally as joyful as one.

After attempting to make an omelet for breakfast in her crowded kitchen, Maki decided to go for a stroll around her subdivision. She walked at a brisk pace, passing by children playing and other people walking their dogs or just enjoying the nice weather on their patios but she didn't see her childhood friends, Rin and Hanayo, who lived right down the street from Maki's house. They lived there together with their daughter and Maki went to go pay them a visit.

When Maki rang the doorbell, Hanayo answered with her baby in one arm.

"Hi Maki-chan! How are you today? Come inside and have some tea."

"I'm doing good, thanks."

Maki walked in the door of Rin and Hanayo's house which looked a lot like her own minus the mess. She took her shoes off and sat down on a cushion by a rectangular glass tea table. Hanayo served Maki and herself some tea after putting the baby in a special swing that moved back and forth on its own.

"What brings you here today?"

"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood."

"You're always in the neighborhood, Maki-chan. You live here."

"Haha, well, I did come here to talk to you about something though."

"Then what's up?"

"Kotori's moving in with me today."

"Woah! Are you guys together now!?"

"Together?"

"Yeah, like me and Rin-chan are."

"No, she's just going to be my roommate." Maki was too embarrassed to say that she needed a maid.

"I see... but you and Kotori would make a good couple."

"What are you talking about!? I don't like her like that!"

"Right... sorry for speaking out of turn."

"Eh, it's okay. So where's Rin at?"

"She's sleeping. The baby wasn't feeling well last night so Rin-chan stayed up with her."

"That was sweet of her to do. Parenthood sounds tough."

"It is, but it's worth it."

Maki looked at the baby who was happily swinging away. She had orange hair like Rin's and purple eyes like Hanayo.

"It's amazing how far science has come. Who would have thought that there would be a day where two women could make a biological child together?", commented Maki.

"Yes, it's a wonderful thing."

Hanayo and Maki conversed for a little while about things like their jobs, Hanayo's baby, Muse, food, and a variety of other things until Maki got a text from Kotori saying that she was done packing. Maki texted back her address so Kotori knew where to go and said her goodbyes to Hanayo. On the way home, all Maki could think about was what her and Kotori's baby would look like if they ever had one together and who would be the one to carry it. She determined that Kotori would give birth to it and that it would have Kotori's hair color and texture and her own eye color and shape.

* * *

Kotori got to the house before Maki did and was sitting on the porch. When she noticed Maki, she ran right up to her and gave her a nice big hug.

"Maki-chan, you got so pretty! I mean, you were pretty before but now you're gorgeous!"

Maki blushed at Kotori's words and said, "Really? I don't wear much make up or anything so I don't know what happened. You look nice too."

"Thanks. You're so lucky."

"Yeah, I guess... Anyway, let's get your stuff in the house."

Kotori nodded.

Upon entering, Kotori marveled at the interior of her new home. It had tan walls with a scarce amount of decor on them since Maki likes simplicity. There were carpeted floors except for the kitchen's and there weren't any of those strange and often random items like a bowl full of wooden balls that you can sometimes find at someone's house but there were some candles and small plants to liven things up. Also, pictures of Maki as a child with her family and a group photo of Muse could be seen.

"Wow! It's so spacious! I can see how this place could get hard to maintain, but it looks clean now."

"I cleaned it yesterday the best I could. It's still rough around the edges."

"That's not a problem. You have me to take care of it now. Where should I put my stuff?"

"I'm not sure. My room is quite roomy so you could put it in there."

"All of the rooms here are roomy. They're rooms after all."

"Real punny Kotori."

Both girls chuckled.

"Go on, put your belongings down. I'll help you organize them later. First, I want to show you around."

* * *

Maki gave Kotori a grand tour of her humble abode. The last stop was the guest bedroom that Maki explained was a total disaster. She let Kotori take look at it and Kotori almost had a heart attack at the sight.

"I... I didn't know a room could look like this... I must clean it!" Kotori went into "crazy cleaning robot mode" and tried to enter the scene of the aftermath of a not so natural disaster but Maki stopped her.

"You don't have to. You just got here. I can't put you to work right away. Besides, I still have to go through all of these clothes someday (not today) and that will take ages. If you're concerned about sleeping arrangements, don't be because my bed is big enough to fit the both of us... unless you want to use the couch for some reason but I'd feel guilty for making you stay on the couch night after night. That's bad for your back and I can't have my maid be in pain."

This speech was an attempt by Maki to lure Kotori into sleeping in her bed because she gets scared at night sometimes and having someone there would put her mind at ease. It's not like she could tell Kotori this though because that would be out of character for her to do. You can't outgrow tsundere-ness.

"That's fine with me."

"Great, now, how about you and I go out somewhere, like to a coffee shop or something so we can catch up?"

"Oh, are you asking me out on a date Maki-chan!?"

"N-no! I just thought-"

"Hehe, I'm teasing you. I'd love to go. You still get worked up over the littlest of things."

"That's not very nice... Are you ready to go?"

"Whenever you are."

* * *

Soon enough, the girls were sipping on their coffee at Maki's favorite cafe. It was a lot like Kotori in the sense that it was calm and ordinary but in a charming way. As they were drinking, Kotori broke the ice and started their first conversation.

"What kind of work do you do Maki-chan?"

"I'm a composer. Basically I make music for other people, mostly just background tunes. I'm not famous or anything but I've done scores for some semi-popular TV shows and such."

"That's so cool! Just like Setsuko in Octave."

"Um, I don't know who or what Setsuko is but an octave is the range of notes that goes from a note in one pitch to the same note in the next pitch higher or lower."

"You're getting too technical Maki-chan. I'm only talking about a manga. I'll let you read it. I think you might like it."

"Um, okay..."

"Anyway, I assume you like your current job but weren't you going to become a doctor?"

"I was but I lost the motivation and dropped out if college when I found out that somebody bought our family's hospital. It was a good business decision on my parents' part because they were able to retire early but the only reason they wanted me to become a doctor was so that I could take over the business. I never really wanted to become a doctor in the first place so my current career path worked out for me."

"Well, I'm glad you're content. You seem a lot more relaxed than you used to be."

"That's because I don't have any expectations to fulfill. Also, you are a bit more outgoing than I remember you being."

"Really? I thought I was always this way. It could be because we didn't talk much during our school days. I was always with Honoka and Umi and you were with Nico, Rin, and Hanayo."

"True, but I'm happy that we have another opportunity to get to know each other."

"Yeah... Hey, are there any things I should know about you that might interfere with our ability to be civil housemates?"

"Hmm, I suppose you should know that I get very cranky when I'm hungry so don't take it personal if I snap at you out of nowhere. Oh, and I can get loud when recording songs so wear earplugs if you need them. How about you?"

"Got it. Me? Uh, I like to sing when I clean and I can't clean very well if I'm not wearing a traditional maid apron."

"That's bizarre. Are you sure it's not all in your head?"

"I'm sure. I've tried to clean without it on plenty of times but I failed miserably. I even got fired once when I forgot to wear it on the job. That was humiliating. In my case, the clothes really do make the girl."

"That sucks."

"It does, but I love my clothes so it makes me feel special when they love me back. My maid uniform was just jealous."

"So clothes have personalities now?"

"Of course they do. I bet your clothes are full of character too."

"Right..." Maki was getting sort of freaked out by how Kotori can give non-living things human emotions but she also found it cute in a way.

* * *

Both of the girls finished their coffee and they each paid for heir share. Kotori offered to take Maki to a nearby clothing store when they were done so that's were they were now.

"We're here! The Birdie Boutique. I love this place so much." said Kotori giddily. She was thrilled to be able to show Maki what all of the clothes here had to say.

During the hour or so that they spent here, Kotori had Maki try on about 15 different outfits. There were instances when Maki suspected Kotori of stealing glances at her while she was changing but she brushed it off as her imagination. There was one outfit in particular that stood out to Maki: a white button up shirt tucked into a purple and red plaid skirt, white leggings, brown wedge-heeled shoes, and a matching purple bow tie hair clip. It reminded Maki of high-school so she took a liking to it. Kotori noticed this so she bought it for her as a late birthday gift.

Normally Maki thought shopping was a chore but somehow, being with Kotori allowed her to actually enjoy the experience before it was time for them to head back home on the afternoon streets of the wonder zone that is Akihabara.

"Thanks for bringing me there Kotori. I love these clothes."

"So do I. They're adorable! They're even more stylish when the person inside of them is just as nice."

"Oh stop it." Why did everyone like to embarrass Maki so much? Because her priceless reactions, that's why.

"Did you like the coffee shop Kotori?"

"Mhm, it was delicious; the coffee, not the building."

"I know that, ya weirdo!"

They both laughed out loud for a while and then the rest of the walk consisted of light-hearted chit-chat.

* * *

"Being out in public has its perks but nothing beats your own home.", said Maki as she unlocked the door to her house and sat down on the couch.

Kotori sat next to her and responded, "I agree. I'm hoping that this place can become a part of me as well."

"It will. I don't plan on kicking you out anytime soon so make yourself comfortable."

"Okay. Uh, Maki-chan?"

"What?"

"Want me to show you that manga I was talking about?"

"Sure."

Kotori got the manga along with her favorite pillow and sat back down.

"You sure love that pillow huh?"

"Yup. It was the first thing I have ever sowed so it has sentimental value to me."

"That's impressive for your first attempt. So, what's this Octave thing you like so much?"

Kotori handed the Maki several volumes of the manga that featured a black-haired girl and a red string on each cover.

"It would be better for you to just read it yourself without any explanation."

"Wow, there are a lot of books."

"Just read them and tell me what you think afterwards."

"Okay then, but they better be worth my time or else I'm going to be mad."

"You have nothing to worry about Maki-chan. Get started on those while I get started on dinner."

* * *

And so Maki read with a constant blush on her face due to some of the slightly graphic content that the manga had. She will be reading the rest of the night because she's the type of person who has to read the whole story in one sitting if she got hooked to it.

Meanwhile, Kotori was busy in the kitchen wearing her trademark maid outfit and making traditional Japanese cuisine while humming away. Once in a while, Maki looked at Kotori to see how she was doing and each time, Kotori was hard at work. She made cooking look so graceful, like an art of sorts, and Maki was captured by her beauty.

When dinner was ready, Maki swiftly devoured her food and then hit the books again. Eventually, it got late and Kotori retired for the day in Maki's bed after doing the dishes. Maki was still reading for a few hours after Kotori went to sleep but she finally finished all of the volumes.

"That was intense... What kind of manga is this? Oh well, I'm tired."

* * *

Maki went to bed too but unlike Kotori, she was not asleep because see was preoccupied with the events that played out in the manga. She swapped the main characters with herself and Kotori unconsciously and it caused her to get uncomfortable. See, the manga is about the young and insecure female protagonist's rocky romantic relationship with another girl who's four years older than her. As to be expected, picturing her and Kotori in this kind of relationship made Maki restless.

**[Enter-Maki's thoughts]**

"Damn, I can't stop thinking this way! But seriously though, why is she reading this kind of stuff? It's not like the story is bad or anything but still, it's unusual for an adult woman to have books like this. I wonder if it's because she wants something to relate to. Should I ask her about it? Ugh, I shouldn't have read that... Thanks Kotori."

Maki stared at Kotori's sleeping face for a bit and poked one of her cheeks without thinking and Kotori mumbled some kind of gibberish.

"Ah! Why did I do that!?"

She regained herself and then focused her attention on Kotori's hair.

"When is she going to cut this tacky fringe off? I'm tempted to do it right now... No, Maki! You can't do that! She would be furious."

Maki shuffled around a little under the covers to get comfortable and then she just lied there, not making a peep.

"Well, looks like I'll be up all night."

Contrary to her last statement, Maki did fall into a slumber. Right before she drifted off she unknowingly held onto Kotori's hand while half asleep and she stayed like that until morning. Kotori was the first to awaken and she noticed Maki's hand on top of her's. This made her smile. She concluded that this was a perfect start to the morning and a perfect start to a new life not as just a maid but a housewife to her beloved Maki-chan who just loved to sleep in whenever she could.

* * *

Eventually, Maki's natural body clock decided that it was her time to wake up but when she opened her eyes, there were another pair that belonged to Kotori. They were wide open and directly in front of her. Kotori's forehead and nose were touching Maki's. They could almost make eye contact, literally!

"Waahhh! Kotori!? What is the meaning of this!?" Maki scooted away from Kotori as fast as she could manage to.

"Good morning Maki-chan! _Eye see _that you enjoyed reading that manga." said Kotori in a somewhat creepy tone of voice. Maki shuddered in fear.

"Oh, um, yeah, it was alright I guess... (she actually loved it, especially the outcome of it) but it was kinda confusing."

"Really? Are you sure you didn't over-_look_ anything?"

"I read it thoroughly so I don't think I missed anything. I was just confused about what that whole 'girlxgirl' thing is about. I've never encountered that before in books nor in real life. What's it all about? Is it like a 'boyxgirl' relationship in terms of legitimacy?"

"Yes, there's no logical reason as to why it wouldn't be a 'legit relationship' but others might not recognize it and most of the time you have to hide it from everyone. If you are _seen _by anyone you _face_ the chance of being shunned."

"That's terrible!"

"I know, I've _observed _someone being picked on. Yes, I know about it very well because that person was me."

"Okay, quit it with the out of place emphasis on-hold on! You got bullied because of it!? So does that mean you like girls!?"

"That's right, but this isn't a big deal right now. No, the problem is that I caught you staring at me last night."

"Huh? I didn't do that... and if I did, how would you know? You were asleep when I climbed into bed."

"Do you know that tuft of hair on my head that you despise so much? Well, that is actually my third eye!"

"Third eye? What did Nozomi get you into back then?"

"The third eye lets you see things even when your eyes are closed."

"I'm pretty sure that's not how the third eye concept works..."

"Hehe, I know! I thought I'd tease you as revenge for staring at me... but that part about me liking girls is true. I hope that you can respectfully accept that."

Some of the upbeat atmosphere escaped out of the room and a wave of seriousness blew in.

"Kotori, I'll accept you no matter what, alright? I don't think you're gross or anything like that either. You don't have to hide stuff from me."

"Thanks for understanding Maki-chan but you said something hypocritical just now. You don't want me to hide things from you but that's exactly what you're doing."

"Ugh, fine, I looked at you while you were sleeping. I've never really seen someone sleeping before and I wanted to compare your sleeping face to your normal face so..."(She's sort of telling the truth but she mostly wanted to admire Kotori without having to worry about Kotori noticing.)" Maki was doing her famous hair twirl.

"Why didn't you tell me that in the first place? What you did was not that weird at all." (Actually, it's a little weird... no, it's very weird but Kotori didn't care.)

"What? Did you expect me to randomly blurt out, 'Hey Kotori, I was staring at you last night!'?"

"Good point, but you excluded the part about the hand holding."

"Forget the hand holding for now! C'mon, I'll try to make you breakfast just this once and then we have work to do. I have a new song that I need to write and you have that guest bedroom to clean. "

"Can I still sleep in your bed after the guestroom is clean?"

"Sure."

"Yay!"

* * *

**Afterword**

Man oh man was this a long chapter. Even though it's so long I can't help but notice that most of the endings (this one in particular) are rushed in these. I can try to explain why this might be the case. You see, I think I took Sonic the Hedgehog's quote, "Gotta Go Fast!" way too personally... Nah, here's a real explanation- Endings pose a challenge to me because I'm the type of writer who just dives head first into compositions and comes up with stuff as I go along. This provides me an element of personal mystery for each and every chapter that I write but it also means that I usually don't have a set goal so I try to just fit some kind of ending in there just for the sake of ending the story. Otherwise, it would keep going and going. (I might keep on going on and on with Kotori and Maki in a separate story that stems from this chapter. I dunno yet.) Anyway, I'm going to implement a new method of writing that I like to call "maze writing" (probably has another official name that I don't know about) for the next chapter. I'll elaborate about what that is next time but it requires me to have a complete ending planned out first so maybe that might help me. Did any of that make sense?

For the sake of making new one-shots and publishing updates to one of my existing stories (Let's Take Care of a Puppy!), I'm taking a break from this one for maybe a couple of weeks but "I'll be back"! (said in Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice).

Please still vote for the next pairing so I can think about it in my spare moments. Here are the rules again:

[**Rules: 1.** The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter **2.** The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. **3.** If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. **4.** If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. **5.** No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) **6.** Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki

PS: Octave and science babies for the win!


	7. HonoMaki

"Maki-chan, Maki-chan, Maki-chan, Maki-chan-"

Maki was at the piano in the music room trying to write some music for her idol group's upcoming concert. Honoka tagged along because she wanted to play with some of the instruments in there. (She didn't tell Maki that that was the reason she came with her though.)

Upon arrival, Honoka found a trumpet but before she could play it Maki snatched it away from her and hid it. There was no way that Maki would let Honoka live up to her fan name, "Honkers", at least not while she was working on something important.

She settled for playing castanets to accompany Maki's piano music but she was off beat which caused Maki to lose the beat as well. Eventually, Maki was able to ignore the castanets but she was not able to ignore Honoka's voice calling out her name repeatedly.

"What!? What do you want!? Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"Come play with me!"

"Play with you?"

"Yeah, at the park down the street. I heard that they put a new swing-set up. I wanna go try it out."

"Then go by yourself. I'm far too old for things like that."

"You're never too old to have fun Maki-chan."

"Well, that's not my idea of fun."

"Then what is?"

"I don't know but can you please leave me alone for now!?"

"Only if you go to the park with me..."

"Alright, I'll go, but you need to promise me that you won't disturb me while I'm still doing this."

"Okay. How long do you think it'll take?"

"Around two hours."

"Two whole hours!? That's a long time!"

"If you have a problem with it you could always leave now."

"No, I'll stick it out. I'm a survivor!"

"I don't get what survival has to do with waiting for me to finish writing music but whatever. Just keep yourself occupied until I'm done."

"Rodger that!"

* * *

As Maki was working on her song, Honoka tried to find something to do. She attempted to write a poem about Maki that went like,

_Maki is mean_

_Maki is shy_

_But Maki loves everyone_

_Both you and I_

Honoka was unsatisfied with the poem so she crumpled up the piece of paper that it was written on and threw it into the recycle bin from across the room.

"Three points!"

"Shh!" this was Honoka's one and only warning. If she made any more noise, Maki would cancel the deal.

She continued lobbing paper into the bin. Sometimes she made it in and sometimes she missed but it held her attention for a solid ten minutes before she grew bored again.

Honoka did a few other things like think about what type of animals all of her friends would be. (This was her conclusion: Umi- dolphin, Kotori- parakeet, Maki- panther, Rin- house cat, Hanayo- dog, Eli- fox, Nozomi- raccoon, Nico- rabbit). She also counted the number of piano keys on the piano (Honoka didn't know that most pianos have 88).

Eventually, she got sleepy and took a nap on the floor and when Maki was finished, she was still snoozing away.

"I'm done. Let's go." Maki turned around and found Honoka stretched out on the floor. She said to herself quietly, "She's a lot cuter when she's quiet... Wait, what am I thinking!? She's not cute at all!"

"So you think I'm cute Maki-chan? That's sweet of you to say."

"You're awake!?"

"Uh-huh, and I heard what you said. I think you're cute too."

"Uh... thanks I guess... Well, now that you're up let's go to that park and get it over with."

"I have a feeling that you'll enjoy yourself."

"Not happening."

* * *

The sidewalk that they traveled on had lots of other pedestrians aboard and there was an abundant amount of urban architecture on the borders of it. This was the city of Akihabara after all so of course there was a lot of hustle and bustle going on but Maki and Honoka were so used to it that they were able to carry on with a conversation despite the ever constant noise. They delved into various topics like dreams, school work, pop-culture, and even the meaning of life, but then one certain subject that Maki typically got annoyed with was brought up: love.

"Do you like anyone?"

"N-no, not really..." said Maki in a hushed voice.

"That's no good! There has to be someone out there who makes you feel all warm inside."

"There isn't anyone like that in my life." That was a lie though. Maki did have someone who made her feel that way but she didn't equate that feeling with love and she hardly thought about it either.

"Oh really? Huh... I was certain that you loved somebody but it seems like I was wrong."

Maki didn't respond and they walked for a few minutes in silence but Honoka couldn't hold off any longer and said,

"Aren't you gonna ask about who I like?"

"I have no interest in your preferences."

"That's not a nice thing to say Maki-chan, but at least you're honest. Anyway, wanna see something cool?"

"I've seen ice plenty of times."

"Not that kind of cool! I meant the cool kind of cool."

"You could've used a better description than that but I think I understand what you're talking about."

"Okay. Do you wanna see it?"

"You're going to show me no matter what answer I give so why bother even asking?"

"Here, watch this." Honoka began jogging backwards, smiling at Maki the whole time.

"Is this the cool thing that you wanted to show me?"

"Yup, I've been practicing this for a while."

"It's not very impressive. You should've put the time you spent on it studying or doing something else that's productive."

"Don't tell me how to live my life Maki-chan, and quit being so strict all the time!"

"Can't help it."

"Yes you can. Through power of love, anything can change!"

"What?" Maki couldn't understand the motives behind any of Honoka's words or actions. She was just one giant puzzle that could never be solved no matter how hard you tried.

* * *

The pace of Honoka's backwards running picked up. There was a busy intersection up ahead and a semi-truck was barreling down the road but Honoka wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings and she almost darted into the street. Luckily Maki was there to save the day.

"Honoka, watch out!"

Maki yanked Honoka's arm before she could go into the road. Due to the laws of physics, Honoka flew into her and knocked her down. Their faces became dangerously close but neither of them cared. Something much more important just happened.

"Ahh! That was the scariest thing that has ever happened! Thank you so much for saving me Maki-chan!"

"No problem... but could you please get off of me now?"

"Oops." Honoka stood up, brushed herself off, and extended her hand for Maki to help her get off of the ground. Usually Maki would refuse but this time she actually let Honoka help her up. Then they were on their way again.

"Wow, that truck made my heart beat so fast! Just as fast as when I watch you play piano. Also, you looked so courageous when you were saving me, kinda like a prince."

"Who the hell flirts around just a few seconds after they were almost killed!?"

"I do!"

"I can see that..."

"And I can see the park!"

"You still want to go there after all that?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. I thought you might be a little too shaken up or something."

"Nah, I'm fine."

"If you say so."

* * *

The playground was littered with small children having the time of their lives. In a few years, they would look back on these days and get very nostalgic. They'd remember laughing with their friends, being proud of the fact that they crossed all of the monkey bars, playing the games they made up themselves, and making fun of two teenage girls who were doing the same things that they were doing and then getting beaten up by the red-haired one. Those will be such fond memories for them.

Maki and Honoka will make some memories of their own today too, but they will be different types of memories- ones that most of the children here won't experience for a while.

"Honoka, wait up!"

They were playing tag with some of the kids here and Maki was "it". She was panting really hard from running for a long time. Both young children and Honoka have an insane amount of energy- too much for Maki to keep up with.

"That's enough! I... give... up...", said Maki, taking a breath between each word.

"Really Maki-chan? I was having so much fun but if you really don't want to play then we can stop." Honoka still wanted to play tag but she wanted Maki to be happy even more.

"Thanks. I'm way too tired to keep going with this game."

"Alright, then let's go on the new swings before we go home."

"Sure."

* * *

Honoka led Maki to the swing set and the kids continued their game. Sometime while the girls were swinging, all of the children slowly started leaving until it was only the two of them left. By now, the sky had a sentimental orange hue.

Suddenly, Honoka put her feet down into the dirt to stop herself from swinging. Maki did the same because she was curious as to why Honoka did that.

"What's wrong Honoka?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about something."

"Like?"

"About how I'm so lucky to have a friend like you."

"I'm not that great of a friend..."

"Yes you are. You wouldn't know it because you aren't friendly with yourself. Once you befriend yourself your whole world will turn upside down."

"I don't understand what you're saying..."

"Love yourself Maki-chan! Love yourself the same way that you love me."

"The same way that I love you?... I don't get it." She got it.

"That's fine Maki-chan. You'll figure things out eventually."

"Okay then..."

"Hey, can I push you?"

"What kind of question is that!? Are you upset with me for some reason?"

"No, I meant push you on the swing! I don't want to push you down like a bully would."

"That's a relief, and yes, you can push me. Just once though."

"Awesome! Prepare yourself Maki-chan!"

"Prepare for what? You better not push me too high or I'll get mad."

"You're always mad Maki-chan."

"I am not!"

"Yeah yeah, are you ready?"

"No, but I never will be so go ahead."

"K, here we go!" Honoka tightly held onto the chains of the swing that Maki was sitting on and ran backwards, lifting Maki up higher and higher the further she moved back. Then she pressed on Maki's shoulders and sent her flying.

"Aahhhh! I told you not to push me that high! Help me!" screamed Maki as momentum took her to greater heights than she was comfortable being at.

"Hahaha!" Honoka was cracking up at Maki's reactions.

"Seriously, stop the swing!"

The swing slowed down when Honoka latched onto Maki's waist and came to a complete halt when Maki stuck her legs out to catch the ground beneath her.

"Jeez! That was awful! You promised that you wouldn't do that..."

Honoka just giggled a bit. She was still hanging onto Maki from behind but instead of holding her waist she had her arms gently wrapped around Maki's neck.

"Maki-chan, check out that cloud up there! It looks like a heart."

"Where?" When Maki looked up, she didn't see any clouds. All she saw was Honoka's face which was getting and closer to her own. She didn't have time to react so Honoka was able to follow through with her kiss. It took a few seconds for Maki to figure out what was going on but when she did, she stayed still until Honoka parted away because it wasn't like she had the ability to move even if she wanted to.

Now Honoka was looking down at Maki endearingly.

"What was that for?", asked Maki softly.

"I dunno, I just felt like doing it. Sorry for lying to you about the cloud."

"I don't care about the stupid cloud! Besides, that was much better than looking at some cloud."

"I didn't know that you could be this honest Maki-chan."

"Huh? Did I say something?"

"Yeah, you said that you would prefer to look at me rather than a cloud."

Maki took a few moments to review her last couple lines of dialog. Then it dawned on her that she really did say something embarrassing like that. Although, she'll deny it at all costs to protect her fragile dignity.

"I didn't say that! I said... um...", Maki couldn't come up with an excuse.

"It's okay Maki-chan. Don't fight your feelings. Accept the fact that you liked it.", said Honoka after she took a seat on Maki's lap. Then she touched her forehead to Maki's which made Maki blush even harder than she already was.

"Hi Maki-chan!" greeted Honoka teasingly.

"H-hi... What are you doing?"

"I'm just looking at your eyes. They're really dazzling, like amethysts."

"Thanks, but can you look at them from further away. You're too close..."

"Nonsense! You can never be too close to the one you love."

"That's not true. You are definitely way too close to me." Maki removed Honoka from her lap and then hopped off the swing herself.

"C'mon Honoka, I think it's about time that we leave."

"Oh, okay. My poor Maki-chan must be worn out from all of that activity, huh?"

"Uh, yeah..."

* * *

So, Maki and Honoka hit the streets again for the last time. As they were walking, Honoka said,

"Thanks for playing with me. I'll always remember how much fun we had today, no matter how far apart we are when we're older."

"Hey now, don't say things like that. I can't stand sad stuff."

"Memories aren't sad if they're about good times. Sure, they may be a little bittersweet since we can't go back and relive them but they can still make us feel happy when we think about them in the future."

"Knock it off! I'm getting really bummed out here..."

Honoka recognized Maki's inability to handle any discussion of change and comforted her with a hug. Several people glanced at the two of them but Honoka scared the onlookers off with a frightening face.

When Honoka let go, Maki said,

"I didn't peg you for the type to be this in-touch with everyone's emotions Honoka. I envy you."

"Woah, did Maki-chan just compliment me!?"

"Yeah, but don't let it get to your head."

"Don't worry, my head is already full of air."

"Pfft!" Those words slightly humored Maki.

"Hey, what's so funny!?"

"Did anyone ever tell you what 'full of air' means?"

"No, but Nico-chan and a few other people tell me that I'm 'full of air' or that I'm an 'airhead' so I figured that it was because I have an open mind."

"Your mind is open alright; a little too open I'd say.", said Maki under hear breath so that Honoka couldn't hear her.

"Is that actually a compliment Maki-chan?"

"Huh? Oh, um, I guess it is..." She couldn't bear to tell Honoka the degrading truth.

"Phew. I was getting worried that it was an insult or something like that."

"Nope, it's a totally positive comment." Maki then thought to herself, "I'm being a terrible person right now..."

"Anyway Maki-chan, did you like playing with me today too?"

"Not really. I found it to be substantially exhausting."

"Oh shut up! You had fun and you know it."

"Well, I suppose I can't deny it..."

"That's better. Let's do this again sometime. Then I want to be the hero who saves you from the evil automobiles!"

"This isn't Transformers! This is Love Live!"

"You just broke the fourth-wall!"

"Fourth wall? I didn't break any walls and if I did, I'd break the first wall."

"Forget I said anything..."

"Good idea."

* * *

**Afterword**

HonoMaki has been accomplished! How well was it accomplished?- I have no idea but it's done now so yeah... Enjoy it for what it is.

I used my "maze writing" technique to write this. Maze writing is when you choose a beginning and an ending first. You start at the beginning and your main goal is to create substance that connects the beginning and the end. You come up with the body as you go along. Is this a unique writing style or is it very common? I don't care much either way but I'm just curious.

One more thing real quick- I have a story to tell: So I had this dream that Honoka and Maki were together! It's true. They were holding hands on some swings at this anime conference I attended at some elementary school that I've never been too. I was much older than all of the kids there so I felt out of place. There was also a part in the same dream where I participated in a turned-based RPG battle with these people dressed up in monster costumes. It was weird... Anyway, Maki was wearing this cute white sundress. Gotta love melatonin induced dreams.

I'm still truckin' along with this story so I need you guys to vote on the next ship. Please follow these guidelines:

[**Rules: 1.** The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter **2.** The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. **3.** If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. **4.** If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. **5.** No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) **6.** Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki, HonoMaki


	8. NozoNico

"Mm Nicochi, let's cuddle!"

Nico was limp and lifeless on the queen sized mattress. She had no responses to any of Nozomi's action.

At the moment Nico and Nozomi were laying in bed together, just like most couples do, but lately, Nico wasn't in the mood for giving or receiving affection.

"Jeez, you're like a zombie Nicochi... Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine; just tired." Nico adjusted her pillow and blankets and rolled over on her side facing away from Nozomi.

"But you say that every night! Do you even love me anymore?"

"Sometimes I wonder the same thing..." And with that said Nico passed out. It was true that she was abnormally fatigued these days but there was something more going on and Nozomi could tell but when she tried to talk about it with her Nico would just say something like, "it's nothing" or "don't worry about me". Nozomi did worry about her though and it was killing her to know that her partner was in distress and there was nothing she could do to help.

For a few hours Nozomi stared at the ceiling thinking about anything and everything while Nico not so elegantly snored. When Nozomi was through with racking her brains over many subjects, she settled up against Nico's back and stroked her smooth and shiny hair that she envied over her own which was thick and course. Before falling asleep she said quietly, "I love you Nico. Please feel better soon..."

* * *

"Ugh, another day another dollar.", grumbled Nico when her alarm clock woke her up. Nozomi slept through it because she didn't have work until later in the day so she conditioned her body to ignore the noise. She was a DJ at a local club. Nico sometimes did gigs there but her primary job was providing customer service at a department store.

Nico shuffled downstairs, drank her coffee (lots of cream and sugar), got primped up, and headed out the door. It was her routine. On the other hand, Nozomi had the privilege of extended relaxation in the mornings. She often dreamed a lot at this time. Today's dream was about her and Nico doing 'various things' together in their bed... and the kitchen and in public and in outer space.

Usually Nozomi dreams about things that she misses in her everyday life. Sometimes she dreams about her parents or her school friends but she rarely dreams about Nico because they've always had a solid relationship until recently.

Everyone has to wake up sometime and when it was Nozomi's turn, she noticed that her body felt strangely sensitive and warm.

"Not again... thanks Nicochi. Now I have to resort to satisfying myself all because you won't do it for me. Not that I don't like doing it myself but still...", thought Nozomi before performing Nico's task thoroughly.

When she was done she tried to fall asleep again. There was no point in getting up today, she concluded, but sleep didn't happen. She arose out of bed because she got bored of just laying there and did mundane chores, including laundry. Before Nozomi threw one of Nico's shirts into the washing machine she held it out in front of her and remembered all of the good times that her and Nico shared while Nico was wearing that shirt.

For example, she was wearing it when Nozomi spilled juice on it at a restaurant and then there was another time when a goat was nibbling on it at a petting zoo. These were very special memories of Nico's misfortune that Nozomi treasured dearly. Nozomi did this with every article of clothing that was there (even her own) so doing laundry took up a good portion of her day.

* * *

"Nozomi! I'm home! Where are you?" yelled Nico from across the house. Nozomi didn't respond so Nico went to find her. What she found was rather unexpected.

"N-nozomi!?"

"Hmm?" Nozomi casually looked at Nico with a pair of pink striped underwear over her face like it was the latest fashion trend.

"Why are you wearing my underwear!? And why are you wearing it like a mask!?"

"Well, it's not like I could fit into them normally." said Nozomi, still flaunting her new accessory.

"That's not the issue here! What are you doing with these in the first place!?"

"I was going to wash them for you."

"Wash them? With what? Your spit? Or do you plan on taking a bath with them?"

"No no, I'll put them in the washing machine. I just wanted to smell them first."

Nico looked petrified. She was afraid that Nozomi discovered a new fetish or something.

"W-why!? Why would you want to do that!?"

"Because they smell like you."

"So do the rest of my clothes! And why do you need to smell me? Sorry, but that's weird."

Nozomi kneeled on the cement floor in shame with her fists clentched tightly. Then she let her emotions pour out.

"Because I missed you, okay? I was looking at our clothes and reminiscing on those days where we actually enjoyed the time we spent together. Now it seems like you're so distant from me and I have no idea why. You never talk to me about what's on your mind and you try to bear everything on your own."

"... Nozomi?" said Nico with concern.

"Hold on, I'm not done yet. I want to let you know that I'm always here for you no matter what. You don't have to hide your sadness and pain. You can trust me with anything. So Nico... what's wrong? Tell me. I'll help you with whatever you're struggling with."

"I can't believe you noticed that I wasn't acting right. I was trying to make sure you didn't get caught up in my personal problems."

Nozomi stood up with emphasis and grabbed Nico by the shoulders.

"Of course I noticed! Your problems are my problems Nicochi! When something's troubling you I can tell. It makes it harder on me when you try to keep everything a secret. It hurts both of us."

As much as Nico was trying to acknowledge Nozomi's heartfelt condolences, she couldn't overlook one itty-bitty detail.

"Uh, excuse me Nozomi but I can't take anything you say seriously when you're wearing that..." Nico took back her underwear and threw it on the ground, uncovering Nozomi's gloomy face which cracked a smile due to the unintended silliness of this situation. Then she hugged Nico's legs since she was still on the floor.

Looking up at Nico (which didn't happen very often since Nico was shorter), she said, "Ahahaha, sorry Nicochi! Anyway, I was just saying that you can rely on me more and to be open with me. I still wanna know what's up with you though."

"I'll tell you after you tell me why you were sniffing my underwear instead of a shirt or something."

"It was the first thing I happened to pick up and-"

"Cut the crap! Give me the real reason!"

"Alright, alright. It's because they smelled like you the most compared to your other clothes... and they are quite alluring."

"Alluring my ass!-"

"That's alluring too."

"Grr..."

"It is, see?" Nozomi went to reach for Nico's butt but Nico evaded the attack.

"Nice try, but you'll have to be faster than that if you want to catch me!", said Nico as she ran out of the laundry room and into the hallway. Her and Nozomi had a cat and mouse chase throughout the house. It ended when Nozomi tackled Nico onto their plushy couch with much force. There was no way Nico could push Nozomi off of her because of the size difference.

"Got ya!" Nozomi hovered over Nico and bombarded her with bubbly kisses.

While she appreciated the yuri-fied love snacks, Nico soon had her fill.

"That's enough!" shouted Nico but Nozomi didn't comply.

"Do you want me to talk to you or not!?"

This got Nozomi's attention and she immediately backed off, but not too much. She was still nice and snug up next to Nico.

"I guess I got a little carried away, huh? I apologize. Please tell me everything Nicochi."

"Okay, here's the story: I basically hate my job. That's all there is to it."

"Explain; why do you hate it so much?"

"Who wouldn't hate getting cursed at daily by angry customers even when you're doing everything you can to help them? It's destroying me. I thought I had pretty thick skin but these people penetrate their nastiness right through it like those goldfish do with paper nets at festivals. It's like I'm on the losing side of an internet flame war every time I go to work. This can't keep up or else I'm going to have a meltdown. I don't want to take my aggression out on you which is what might happen if I keep putting up with this. You're already dealing with enough from me as it is. I don't want to upset you any more than I already am."

"I have a solution."

"What is it?"

"Just quit."

"Just quit..." said Nico, barely audibly. Then she sprang off of the couch with her arms up and continued, "JUST QUIT!? I can't quit!"

Nozomi stood up as well and held Nico's hands.

"Sure you can. Go up to your manager and be like, 'Hey boss, I'm outta here. Good luck finding someone else to exorcise those demons.'" Nozomi did a little animated skit while she said this.

"Oh my god Nozomi! You always have to make a joke when I'm trying to say something important!" Nico shoved Nozomi back onto the couch playfully. She was meaning to sound mad but she was having difficulty holding back laughter at the same time.

"I wasn't joking. You really should quit if it's affecting you this badly."

"Then what am I suppose to do?"

"Get a job that you actually want."

"Easier said than done."

"That's understandable but just out of curiosity, what would you want to do for a living if you had a choice? 'Being Nozomi's wife' doesn't count since that's what you already do."

"I would want to be an idol but that's unrealistic at this point. Alternately, I wouldn't mind being a kindergarten teacher. I mean, I have experience since I took care of my siblings for years."

"There you go! You should be a teacher Nicochi!"

"Then I'd have to go to college. I hate school with a passion. Plus, we can't afford that."

"So you're saying that you like your current job better than doing homework?"

"Can't say that I do."

"Well luckily for you, your lovely and oh-so thoughtful wife Nozomi-chan had some money saved up in case something like this happened so you don't have to worry about the finances while you're in school. The cards told me that I should prepare for some sort of career change and I figured that changing careers could get costly."

"That's nice and all but how would I even be able to get accepted into college? I've never learned to study properly."

"Really? I thought my 'washi-washi' tutoring technique was very effective."

"It was effective. It effectively turned me on... The other girls avoided your groping because they found it uncomfortable but I avoided it because it distracted me from concentrating on my work."

"Haha! That's adorable Nicochi! I bet you sometimes got the wrong answers on purpose just so I'd touch you."

Nico blushed because it was the truth. Nozomi couldn't handle Nico's cuteness any longer so she scooped her up onto her lap and tried to initiate a "study session" but Nico wasn't too keen on the idea.

"C'mon Nozomi! We don't have time to be goofing around like this! I need to start making preparations for this new future thing that I'm so in the dark about. I don't know where to begin..."

Nozomi placed her hand on Nico's cheek tenderly. "Relax Nicochi, everything will fall into place and I'll always be there beside you but as for right now, the best thing for you to do is to get back in touch with yourself.

Nico misheard Nozomi, resulting in her asking an embarrassing but necessary question.

"You want me to touch myself?... Um, I don't really understand why you would want me to do that; not that I'm judging your interests or anything but..."

"Meditation Nicochi! I was talking about meditation... but I'm not opposed to watching you do that as long as you let me join in eventually.

"Absolutely not! Anyway, what's meditation? Is that like when you sit in a cramped position while humming something?"

"Not quite. Meditation is when you rid your subconscious mind of all of the clutter that inevitably builds up from the stresses of everyday life. You enforce internal stillness-"

At first Nico was taking in Nozomi's words that promoted the peace and tranquility that she so desperately deserved but then Nozomi started rambling and Nico stopped listening. Instead she sat on the floor, crossed her legs, pinched her fingers together, and began chanting, "omm... omm..." She was meditating- clearing her thoughts of Nozomi's speech.

* * *

"Oi, Nicochi! Did you hear a single word I said?"

"Omm..."

"I'll give you an 'omm'- an 'omm nom nom'!"

**_Chomp_** Nozomi bit Nico's bent arm.

"Ow! You distracted my soul renewal!"

Nozomi glomped onto Nico and cheerfully cooed, "I love you Nicochi!"

"Why did you say that so suddenly?"

"Why not? I love you after all."

"And I love sweets but it's not like I exclaim, 'I love chocolate!' randomly."

Nozomi pouted.

"Hey, I'm kidding. I like when you say those things but I'm just pointing out how odd it sounds in theory when other people hear us say it to each other."

"That makes sense but can you please just shut up and let me ravish you?"

"Way to be subtle about it... Fine, go ahead, but what about this important stuff like college and work and whatnot that we have to address?"

"That can wait. Remember, you can trust me. I'll take care of you. Now, let me take care of you in a different way."

"You're such a horn-dog Nozomi."

"You know it!"

* * *

**Afterword**

Aren't these guys so adorable together? They are my favorite "non-canon ship" (Loose term usage is loose). Some of Nozomi's encouraging words come from a super catchy song called "Trust Me" which is the first ED from the show Durarara. Check it out if you want. It has a cute yuri twincest couple in the second season so that's a thing.

I thought I should mention that new chapters will be spaced out more (like Nozomi's dream) from now on because I think the ships will sail smoother that way. (Sorry you guys but I love puns. You should know that by now.)

Now comes everyone's favorite part: voting! You now the drill but in case you don't here are the rules:

[**Rules: 1.** The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter **2.** The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. **3.** If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. **4.** If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. **5.** No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) **6.** Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki, HonoMaki, NozoNico

Past winners: Bleach010915, kryuu27, Rin Hoshizora, VariantEiko, GATX105VividPanzer, Rakugei, elliemei, Kevincruelz


	9. HonoAnju

It was a Saturday evening in Akihabara and Honoka and her two best friends, Umi and Kotori, walked through the glass door of A-Live, a fancy yet not too fancy restaurant. They were wearing clothes that aren't worth describing because they do not play a role in this story whatsoever. (If you absolutely have to have a visual picture, imagine them all wearing striped one piece swimsuits with squeaky flotation devices that have little ducky heads sticking out of them around their waists because that would be frickin' adorkable.)

Honoka had some issues opening the door and she expressed her complaints out loud.

"Why the heck would they put a handle on a door that you push to open!?"

"I don't know but you need to relax. We're in public and-" That's when Umi noticed three oddly familiar people sitting at the table that Honoka was leading her and Kotori to.

Umi pulled her two friends behind this divider that some restaurants have. You know, for decorative purposes... probably.

"What is the meaning of this!?" shouted Umi somewhat quietly so that she wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. She wasn't too happy with her companion right now.

"It's a triple date!"

"Huh?" Kotori was just as confused as Umi was but she wasn't mad.

"It's exactly how it sounds. I figured we could flirt with A-Rise to build a stronger bond between them and Muse. Appearing with A-Rise on stage or on TV would cause our popularity to soar. Plus, all of us could get ourselves a new girlfriend!"

"Ooh, scandalous!", exclaimed Kotori.

"Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?"

"'Cuz you guys might not have come if you knew."

Umi sighed a sigh to end all sighs and said, "That's correct, I wouldn't have gone but now that we're here we can't just go and cancel the reservation... You really are something else Honoka."

"Eheheh." laughed Honoka sheepishly.

"Let's sit down at our table. I don't think they saw us yet so act natural.", said Kotori.

As to be expected from a group of juvenile girls, they couldn't play it cool. Kotori whistled while walking stiff straight, Honoka was acting paranoid (constantly looking in every direction with a slightly crouched stance), and Umi simply had this facial expression that said, "I just murdered someone and shoved the body in a refrigerator but it's all good because I cleaned up the blood and disinfected the crime scene."

Everyone in the restaurant was painfully aware of their presence except for Tsubasa, Erena, and Anju. They must've "A-Risen" out of their seats to go to the bathroom because they were nowhere to be found. Most women tend go into public bathrooms in packs for some reason so that's a likely assumption. They probably didn't leave the building because their matching leather biker jackets (that were obviously their's because each one had an "A-Rise" logo studded with rhinestones on the front pocket) were hung over three chairs on one side of a table. This meant that our heroines were safe, but they could feel bone-chilling leering coming from all corners of the room. Because A-Rise wasn't among the onlookers, the HonoKotoUmi trio got away unscathed.

* * *

Shortly after Honoka and her subordinates claimed their spots the girls from A-Rise returned. Tsubasa greeted her rivals that sat on the opposite side of her table.

"Hey guys! I thought I saw you come in but then I looked again and you weren't there anymore so we checked to see if you were in the bathroom but here you are."

"Yup, we're here!" said Honoka cheerfully. Anju and Erena smiled back at Honoka and Honoka noticed that Anju's smile was a little bit wider than Erena's. It could've just been her imagination though.

Once everyone finished saying their hellos a tense atmosphere was formed and nobody spoke a word. This would've turned into an awkward silence but a handsome waiter came by to ask what the girls wanted to drink. Umi and Tsubasa got water, Kotori and Erena ordered iced tea, Anju wanted cola, and Honoka had a taste for chocolate milk. It would seem that most people wouldn't dare have chocolate milk on a first date no matter how much they liked it because they wouldn't want the other person to perceive them as being childish but truthfully, the person that you're trying so hard to impress probably wants chocolate milk too. (Life Tip: Always follow your heart and your taste buds when ordering stuff at a restaurant because if somebody discriminates against you based on your food choices, they don't deserve to eat or drink anything.)

"Is that everything?"

"Yes sir.", said Tsubasa politely. Half of the girls thought to themselves, "Of course that's everything! Do you see any more people here!?"

"Alright, I'll return shortly with your beverages. Here are the menus in the meantime."

"Thanks." This time it was Kotori's turn to say the formality.

Honoka was the first to open her menu and right off the bat she started talking about how tasty everything sounded. Umi was getting annoyed hearing about it so Honoka talked to the person sitting across from her instead.

"Hey A-Rise girl with the same hair color as me, check it out! They have lots of spaghetti!" (Honoka pronounces "lots of" like "lotsa". Remember this. Otherwise the next part won't make any sense.)

"My name's Anju..."

"Sorry, let me try that again..."

Honoka re-positioned herself, cleared her throat, and revised her words.

"Hey Anju-chan, check it out! They have lots of spaghetti!"

Anju was a bit surprised at Honoka's immediate use of "chan" when she said her name but it didn't bother her at all. In fact, she found it to be quite refreshing. Breaking free from the standards set by society takes a lot of courage (or carelessness in Honoka's case). Although, Anju had to ask, "What's 'lotsa spaghetti'? It sounds foreign but I can't tell what language it is."

"That's because there's no such thing as 'lotsa spaghetti'."

"But you were just talking about 'lotsa spaghetti'."

"I think you're confused. Here, I'll use it in a sentence: 'I hope she made lots of spaghetti!'"

"I'm sorry but I don't understand. It still sounded like you said, 'I hope she made lotsa spaghetti'."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I said... 'lots of spaghetti'."

Honoka and Anju were getting frustrated and their friends were all giggling at the dynamic duo.

"What's so funny!?" said Honoka and Anju in unison. This made everyone else laugh even harder.

"Oh nothing!" Kotori was able to pull herself together to give them an answer (if you can call it that). They both pouted.

* * *

"Here are your drinks ladies." It was the waiter. He set the cups down on the table gently and handed out 6 straws.

"Are you ready for me to take your orders?"

"Yes sir", said all six girls at once.

The waiter jotted down everything they said on a notepad and then walked away, leaving the group to come up with more things to talk about. Conversation didn't happen though. Besides for the sound of Honoka blowing bubbles in her chocolate milk with a straw, it was quiet yet again and Umi was getting really uncomfortable. She had to end the silence somehow so she figured that she'd address something that she felt needed to be said.

"Um... Tsubasa-san, Erena-san, Anju-san?"

Everyone looked at Umi in anticipation.

"Excuse me, I'm not sure if Honoka mentioned this to you or not but apparently this is some kind of date according to her. I just wanted to say that I am not interested in dating anyone at this point in time... That is all..." Umi was blushing hard at her confession and it didn't help that everyone was looking at her either.

"Umi-chan!? What are you saying? Come on! That's not fair to them! This is a date!"

Tsubasa intervened, "It's okay Honoka-san. Although this was suppose to be a triple date it's fine that Umi-san doesn't want to participate. I myself am not even sure who is suppose to be with who."

"Yeah Honoka-chan, you didn't plan this out very well... no offense." Kotori added her two-cents.

"You're right Kotori-chan. Let's just make this a friendly outing where us school idols can get to know each other better." It was difficult for Honoka to say this because she was really looking forward to going on a date but since she was a leader she felt obligated to take one for the team every now and then. She learned how to hide her disappointment when need be because of it.

"Anyway, I was thinking that we could play this ice-breaker game I made up just now. It's called 'Personal Investigation'".

With a creepy title like that most of the girls were hesitant to even know what the game entailed but Anju was genuinely curious about it so she asked, "How do you play, Honoka-san?"

"First, you ask somebody a question. After they answer it they get to ask a question to somebody else and the game goes on and on like that."

"You didn't make that game! That's just '20 Questions' but with a ridiculous name!" Umi is always the first one to correct Honoka whenever she says or does something wrong.

"Oh alpaca puffs, foiled again!" (Translation: "Darn, you caught me.")

The laughter that erupted from a certain area of the restaurant was so outrageously loud that one waiter had to tell them to keep it down because they were disturbing the other customers.

When things died down Erena asked, "So, when are we going to play this game?"

Honoka answered, "Right now! You already asked the first question and since I answered it, I'll ask someone else one. Let's see here..." Honoka had her hand on her chin in a contemplative fashion.

Right as Honoka was about to ask a question Tsubasa said, "Hang on, I think we should only ask questions to people from different schools otherwise we may not be able to get to know each other as well. Is that alright?"

They all nodded in agreement.

"Wonderful! Okay Honoka-san, you can ask your question now."

"This was meant for Umi-chan so it really won't apply to anyone from A-Rise..."

Upon hearing her name being called, Umi's ears perked up. She really wanted to know what Honoka's question for her was.

"You wanna know what my question was? I guess I can tell you. I was gonna ask why you get embarrassed so easily."

Of course, Honoka saying that out loud embarrassed Umi greatly. Honoka and Kotori were teasing her about it and Tsubasa and Erena were grinning but Anju wasn't as amused. She was jealous of how Umi was so close with Honoka.

Even though her feelings of envy were inexplicable, she decided not to over-analyze them and just go with the flow, but it wasn't like she was helpless. She did have the ability to try to move things along by changing the subject so she said in a gentle voice, "Alright Honoka-san, do you have a different question for one of us?"

"Yeah, I just thought of one. I'll just ask you, Anju-chan, since I'm already talking to you."

"S-sure, go ahead." Anju was getting nervous at the thought of sharing anything personal with Honoka.

"Okay, I've been wondering this for a while now..." This pause made Anju even more anxious than she already was.

"... Why do girls usually go into public bathrooms together?"

Strange glances were exchanged across the table. As the saying goes, eyes can talk. A couple of them seemed to say, "What kind of question is that!? This is suppose to be an ice breaker game not a gender study!" and the rest were like, "Yeah seriously, why do they do that? It's kind of weird now that I think about it."

Meanwhile, Anju was trying to conjure up an answer to this perplexing mystery concerning the social habits of civilized female humans. The best explanation that she could piece together was, "Perhaps they enjoy each other's company?"

Kotori replied, "Really? I always thought it was a 'safety in numbers' type of thing. You know, to defend themselves against pervy men."

"But Kotori-san, there aren't any men in this show.", Erena butted in.

"Good point... But what about the waiters?"

"They don't count. Waiters are not perverts. Waiters are and will always be pure, courteous gentlemen by nature. Since waiters are perfect and living things are not, that means that these waiters aren't alive at all so they technically can't be male or female. The most likely conclusion is that they are robots. Also, they never debuted in an episode, therefore they are not canologically proven."

"Then what about Honoka's dad? He's a man."

"He's headless, 'nough said."

"Passerbys?"

"Background scenery."

Kotori and Erena continued debating the existence of men like they were debating the existence of a divine being while the other girls kept playing "Personal Investigation." So far the game wasn't living up to its name and Anju was given the responsibility of reversing the situation by asking either Umi or Honoka a, you guessed it, personal question. (Kotori and Erena were in their own little world at the moment so they weren't playing.)

Anju didn't know who to pick. On one hand, she loved the sound of Honoka's voice but she didn't want anyone to think she favored Honoka over Umi even though she actually did. On the other hand, Umi didn't seem to want to talk much so choosing Honoka might be a more respectful option. It was a tough decision but ultimately she chose to ask Honoka a question because that's what her heart told her to do.

"This one is for Honoka-san. What do you look for in a person?"

"Well, according to me, a person has to be a living, breathing human. Otherwise they are just a corpse or some kind of wild animal, maybe both. I can't see them myself but if you're specifically talking about a person's inside body parts then-"

"Honoka, I don't think that's what she meant..."

"No, it's fine Umi-san. She gave a good answer. Very literal, I like it." Anju actually didn't care for Honoka's answer but she wasn't going to push this topic any further. She speculated whether or not Honoka said what she said in order to dodge the question or because she truly didn't grasp the meaning of it.

"Yay! It's my turn again! Here we go! Tsubasa-chan, have you ever thought about growing out your bangs? I think they'd be cuter if they were longer."

"Oh, haven't you heard? Showing off your forehead is in style now."

"No it's-" Anju was about to say "No it's not." but Tsubasa stopped her with a swift kick to the leg.

Actually, Tsubasa's bangs are always short because she keeps trimming them too much but still, she insists on cutting them herself anyway because she's too stubborn to admit defeat.

"I see... I don't keep up with fashion so I didn't know."

Anju leaned across the table and whispered into Honoka's ear, "Don't listen to her. Short bangs are not fashionable."

Honoka giggled at Anju's words. Tsubasa was pretty sure what information was being shared but she let it slide and said, "Hey Anju, ask something already."

"Um, Umi-san, could you tell me about how Muse got together?"

"I can try. It's a pretty long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yes please. I'm very interested."

"Okay. I suppose it all started when..."

For the next 10 minutes Umi was talking more than she ever had in a long time. Tsubasa periodically interrupted to ask questions. Eventually Anju stopped paying attention because the story turned into a Q&amp;A session between Umi and Tsubasa and she felt like a third-wheel.

She wasn't the only person not listening. Honoka could care less about what Umi was talking about because she experienced it first hand. Anju recognized this so she tried to stir up some small talk with Honoka.

"Honoka-san, you look bored. Why is that?" Sometimes you just have to ask questions that you already know the answer to in order to connect to people.

"Just between you and me, Umi-chan is a terrible storyteller."

"Well, I've certainly heard better..."

They both smiled at each other in mutual agreement.

"I'd hate to disturb your conversation girls but your food is ready."

"Yummy! Thanks mister waiter dude."

Honoka always got excited when the topic of food was mentioned. It's one of her greatest joys in life after all... That and a certain cute A-Rise girl but she wasn't aware of the last one yet.

"No problem ma'am. Enjoy your meal."

* * *

Umi ended her story and Kotori and Erena finished up their debate (Erena won) to eat some delicious food. Coincidentally, everyone ordered spaghetti so even though there wasn't any "losta spaghetti", there was still lots of spaghetti.

The rate and technique in which everyone ate was varied. For example: Kotori ate very small bites at an above average pace like a bird would, Tsubasa took big bites, Umi had to eat very slowly to make sure that sauce didn't go anywhere, Erena preferred to use a three-tined fork as opposed to chopsticks so she could pretend that she was Poseidon and stab her seafood spaghetti with her "trident", Anju liked forks too because they made it easier for her to neatly wrap up the noodles for a hassle-free delivery, and Honoka just ate like a two year old that had a basic concept of table manners.

As time went by the food disappeared and so did the girls. They each paid for their share and pitched in to provide a tip for their supposedly robotic waiter before they left.

Everyone parted ways except for Honoka and Anju. It just happened that way since their houses were kind of in the same area. Since they didn't live in the same exact house they too had to separate but when Honoka tried to walk off Anju grabbed her arm.

"What's up Anju-chan? Aren't you going home?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to thank you for today. I had a nice time. You looked a little off though, like something was bothering you."

"So you noticed huh? I thought I was doing a good job hiding it. How did you figure it out?"

"Believe it or not, I am unusually adept at reading what other people are feeling. The average person could never tell."

"That's amazing! Don't worry about me though. The reason why I was upset was because this 'date' wasn't even a date."

"I knew that so that's why I wanted to ask if maybe you'd like to go on one with me sometime?"

"Seriously!? You're not saying that out of pity are you?"

"Nope. You're such an interesting girl... and you're not ugly either so..."

"So, you like me?"

"You could say that."

"Like, 'like' me?"

"Probably? I'll know for sure once we go out some more."

"Alright. Hey, would you like some dessert? My family owns a bakery. We have the best bread and I'll treat you to some of you'd like."

"Bread for dessert? Carbs are basically sugars so that makes sense."

"What, they are!? I guess that's why Umi-chan told me not to eat bread all the time."

"Yeah, but it's fine in moderation. I'd be happy to eat some with you tonight."

"Then come on! My house is right around this corner!"

* * *

Honoka took Anju's hand and ran off to her house which was also the Homera Bakery. When they got inside Honoka's mom was behind the counter.

"Hi Mom! This is my friend, Anju-chan."

"Hello there Anju-san. Did my daughter drag you here? She's always so forceful."

"Cut it out Mom! You're embarrassing me!"

"That's a mother's job."

"Nuh-uh, a mother's job is to feed her children. Could you get us something to eat?"

"But didn't you just go out for dinner? The last time I went out for dinner I ate food..."

"No, I mean that we want dessert!"

"Oh really? I just made some mochi. Would you like some?"

"Yeah-"

"Not you Honoka. I was talking to Anju-san."

"Yes, I'll try it. Thanks."

"What about me, Mom!?"

"Fine, you can have some too. Here, take it to your room right away and don't bother Yukiho. She told me that she was doing something very important and that she doesn't want to be disturbed.", said Honoka's mom as she handed them each a plate of sticky goo-balls.

"K, let's go Anju-chan. My room's upstairs. Follow me."

* * *

As they were ascending the stairs Anju couldn't stop thinking, "I-I'm going in Honoka's room! And we'll be alone together! No-no, this is just an innocent invitation for dessert, nothing more. I have to get a hold of myself."

They walked down the hallway and Honoka stopped at the first door on the left.

"This is my younger sister Yukiho's room. I know that my mom said not to impose on her but I really want you to meet her."

Honoka knocked on the door.

"Yukiho, open up! I want you to meet my new girlfriend!"

Anju couldn't believe that Honoka called her her girlfriend. Were they even girlfriends yet? She'll have to discuss this with Honoka soon. She still didn't want to interrupt her "sister-in-law" with whatever she was doing though so she tried to stop Honoka.

"Wait-"

It was too late. Honoka already slid open the door and they witnessed a self-conscious, half-naked adolescent girl kneading her breasts in an attempt to make them larger.

Yukiho was mumbling to herself, "Alisa said this would work but how long do I have to keep this up for? It kinda hurts..."

The door was shut by Anju just as quickly as it was opened and Yukiho didn't see or hear a thing because she was too busy fretting over herself.

"She's so weird. Why does she care so much about that?", whispered Honoka.

"I can always meet her some other time." Anju felt a little guilty for seeing something that she wasn't supposed to and was not sure how she'd ever be able to face Yukiho after this.

"Haha, sorry about that. My sis is kinda strange. My room is the next one down."

* * *

They entered and Honoka motioned for Anju to sit at the table in the center of the room. Anju observed her surroundings. The place was actually tidy despite Honoka's personality which Anju didn't know that much about yet. It also had a very welcoming feel to it, just like the person who occupied it did.

Honoka joined Anju at the table with the mochi and served some to her friend.

"It's not bread but our mochi is good as well."

Anju took a bite of the chewy confection and perked up in delight.

"Mm, it's very tasty! Do you know how to make stuff like this too, Honoka-san?"

"Yeah, but my parents are much better at it, especially my dad. Can you cook or bake at all?"

"I'm decent at cooking but I can't bake to save my life."

"That's kinda cute."

"You think so?"

"Yup."

"Say, Honoka-san, earlier you addressed me as your girlfriend. Is that truly how you think of me?"

"Well yeah, you're not my boyfriend... unless there's something you haven't told me about, but I'd like you either way."

"I'm definitely a girl! I was just asking if we're dating or not..."

"We are if we're going to go on dates. Date is such a funny term to use, isn't it? When I hear the word 'dating' I think of writing 6 numbers on people. Is that normal?"

"'Normal' is a funny term too. It can mean so many different things but it your case it doesn't matter if it's normal or not. Your thoughts are yours so they're special and special doesn't really equal normal but that's a good thing." Anju answered that truthfully without hurting Honoka's feelings. What a saint.

The girls polished off the rest of the mochi in total silence but unlike at the restaurant, this stillness was comfortable and warm. Anju appreciated it just like she did the snack.

"Thank you for the mochi Honoka-san. It was excellent."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Yes, I'll have to buy some later when I have a chance. Anyway, it's getting pretty late. I think it might be a good idea for me to head home now."

"Okay Anju-chan. I really enjoyed our little date today. Let's hang out again soon. I'll show you the way out."

Honoka said farewell to her guest and went back upstairs. She flopped down on her bed and broke out in a big goofy grin.

"Hehe! I got my date after all!"

* * *

**Afterword**

Long time no see, friends! As I expected, this chapter was tough to write but it's done and I'm pretty happy with the outcome. At first I wasn't sure about whether or not I should allow pairings with A-Rise members because there isn't much reference material for them but then I figured I could create my own reference material. I guess that means Yukiho and Alisa are legit options too. Heck, even the moms are shippable. Why not? (Honestly though, I'm much better at writing about the 9 main girls instead.)

Okay, I need you guys to vote again. Here are the rules in case you forgot:

[**Rules: 1.** The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter **2.** The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. **3.** If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. **4.** If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. **5.** No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) **6.** Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki, HonoMaki, NozoNico, HonoAnju

Past winners: Bleach010915, kryuu27, Rin Hoshizora, VariantEiko, GATX105VividPanzer, Rakugei, elliemei, Kevincruelz, cielo oscuro


	10. NozoUmi

"Ugh... I can't do this..."

"The most important thing about climbing a mountain isn't the courage to try, it's the courage to give up."

"What are you talking about, Nozomi? Are you saying that I should just stop trying to work on this really important song!? That would cause major problems!"

Nozomi went over to where Umi was sitting with her head cradled in her hands and patted Umi on the head. They were both in the student council room. Umi was there because she thought of the place as a mellow productivity space and Nozomi was there to fill out papers for the student council. They were sitting next to each other at a long table but only Nozomi's pen was moving.

"No, that's not it. I'm just suggesting that you should take a break. Maybe you could get some inspiration from whatever you do during that time, like when we went camping on that one trip."

Lifting her head, Umi look at Nozomi and said,

"I don't have time for breaks and besides, nothing got accomplished during that mountain climbing activity."

"Oh my naive little Umi-chan, you may not have accomplished the task at hand but you at least accomplished the task of giving yourself a hand in the future."

"...What?"

"I'm saying that even though we never got to the top of the mountain that day we still gained some skills that can assist us in future ."

"Like?" Umi needed some proof. Nozomi sometimes says baseless things just to cheer people up.

"Uh..." Nozomi was struggling to find and answer but she created one eventually. "Like, the power of friendship!"

"Friendship huh?"

"Yes, friendship! Hey, maybe you could write a song about friendship?"

"Nozomi, do you realize how many songs we already made about friendship?"

Nozomi took a wild guess, "9?... Am I right?"

"Who knows, but I do know that there are plenty of them."

"Yeah... Oh, I got one!"

"I'm scared; what is it?" Umi had become frightened of Nozomi's wild ideas.

"You should write a song about something you love!"

"I don't love anything."

"Sure you do. Don't you love me?"

"I guess? You're just an ordinary senpai to me... but I can say that I'm smitten with archery."

A pen clicked, signaling that Nozomi was done with her paperwork. She stood up and slammed her hands on the table, knocking Umi's paper on the floor. It gently floating downwards on the way in all of its blank glory.

"Archery! That's it! Now you can incorporate your 'Love Arrow Shoot' phrase into something."

"Y-you know about that!?"

"Everyone knows about that. It's old news. Anyway, you should go to the archery range and shoot a few rounds. It'll clear your mind at least. I'll accompany you."

"Hm...", said Umi in hesitation.

"What could possibly go wrong?"

"I'd have to say that shooting someone with an arrow would be pretty bad."

"Quit making excuses. We're going there right now!"

Nozomi carried Umi bridal-style all the way to the range just because she could. It caused a few other students to turn their heads.

"Put me down!"

"Yes princess."

"Don't call me 'princess' ever again!"

"Yes princess."

* * *

It was expected that everyone except for spectators be equipped in protective gear while at the range. While Umi was suiting up, Nozomi observed the other archers.

They had dead-serious expressions and were emotionless right until they were at the point of releasing their fingers from the string. When that happened, there was a glint of light in their eye; A sparking speck of adrenaline being channeled into the tip of the arrow.

Next either came a harsh slapping noise or a satisfying cushiony sound depending on where the arrow penetrated the target.

Umi came back to Nozomi clad in specific armor.

"How dashing, Umi-chan. You look ready to join the war against homophobia."

"... P-please don't look at me too much while I'm practicing or else I'll get nervous."

You could just feel the heat radiating off of Umi's face.

"Nope, I'm gonna stare at you the whole time. Pressure is a good motivator."

"There's no changing your mind, is there?... Fine, but obey the rules of the range. I don't want to get banned because of you.

"Will do."

There was a rusty, metal sign on a wooden post that pointed out the rules. Basically it was saying that you could get shot if you step over the white line and to not shoot while people are retrieving their arrows.

Umi got into position on the dusty dirt ground, feet shoulder-width apart, and facing perpendicular to the round target 20 yards away. She shot her first arrow.

Slap! It landed quite aways off to the left as a result of the uncomfortable gaze that Nozomi had on her.

"Aim to the right more!", shouted Nozomi from afar.

"I already know that! It's your fault that I'm off!"

"Don't blame me! Blame your lack of concentration!"

"I don't want to hear it!"

* * *

In the past, Umi used to be very formal with Nozomi for the sole fact that Nozomi was older than her but lately a barrier had been brought down by an onslaught of familiarity. Being with someone in the same room a lot tends to do this.

Eventually, Umi got used to Nozomi's vexing eyes scanning her every move and she improved as she kept at it.

"Fwip" the last arrow landed in the center of the target."

"Bullseye!" cheered Nozomi.

The other club members gave Umi a round of applause and she subtlety appeared to be proud of herself.

"That looks fun Umi! Can I try?"

"Well..." Umi was torn. If she let Nozomi try it, there could be a chance of injury or equipment damage but Nozomi might also find a new hobby and their friendship may improve."

"Alright, but first we need to see which one of your eyes is the dominant one. To do this, keep both eyes open and point at a stationary object."

Nozomi pointed at Umi's face.

"You don't have to point at me!... Whatever. Next, close one eye at a time. The eye that's open while your finger is on me is your dominant eye. The non-dominant one will be to the left or the right of me."

Nozomi went through the procedure and concluded that she was right-eye dominant.

"Umi-chan looks great no matter which eye I see her through but I'm able to touch her if I close my left eye."

"N-nozomi! That sounds really dirty!"

"Hehe! So, when can I shoot?"

"After everyone gets their arrows. I'll hurry back so I can teach you the proper stance and technique before you start."

Over an intercom a range officer announced, "Archers cease fire! Retrieve your arrows and step back behind the white line!"

Umi ran at top speed, like she was running a relay race and came back panting.

"Wow! You could set a record with that time Umi-chan."

"That's... not true... Anyway, I'm going to teach you the correct formation. Pretend you have a bow in your hands while doing this."

She lead Nozomi over to an open lane.

"Since you're right eyed I want you to face to your right. Luckily you're also right-handed so this position should feel natural."

"I know some other positions that would feel natural, too." Nozomi winked with a devious smile.

"Why do you have to make everything sexual, Nozomi!?"

"Oh? Do I do that? Sorry, I didn't intend to rub you the wrong way.", another double-entendre by Nozomi.

"Gah! Please, just stop it!"

"Okay."

Umi then got behind the shorter girl grabbed her arms. She stretched Nozomi's left one out towards the target and pulled the right one back, elbow bent, with her first few fingers resting against her check, slightly curled.

This exercise required them to be in close contact with each other and both got a little flustered, especially Umi.

"S-so yeah, this is how you stand... You should go put on the uniform. I'll get it for you and I'll also fetch you a bow."

* * *

While Umi was rummaging through a storage room to get Nozomi's stuff, she thought to herself, "Why am I even doing this? Shouldn't the senpai be the one teaching the kouhai? What happened here?"

When she returned, Umi shoved the stuff into Nozomi's arms without making eye contact.

"Thank you Umi-chan. I can figure out how to put it on myself."

"N-no, I can show you."

When all of the archers were ready, the intercom blared, "You may commence fire!"

"Just watch what I do and copy me.", said Umi as she stepped up to her shooting spot. Nozomi stood in awe at Umi's flawless movements and steady posture as she followed through with the shot. It was like a work of art.

"Now you try."

Nozomi didn't respond verbally. She just attempted to do exactly what Umi did but her motion was clunky and inconsistent. Still, her accuracy wasn't horrible. It just wasn't the best.

"Good job! That was great for a beginner."

The praise was accepted by Nozomi with a fake smile. In all reality, she felt inferior to Umi. She was used to being around people that she believed were "better than her", though. For example, she was always comparing herself with Eli who was the actual student council president, not just the vice-president like she was. Not to mention that Eli and even Umi were "much more beautiful than her". (Nozomi's skewed logic here, not the author's opinion!) A replaceable side-kick; that's all she thought of herself as.

"Thanks... I think I'm done for today. I'll see you tomorrow.", Nozomi ran away, leaving Umi baffled as to why her friend took off so fast, especially since Nozomi was the one who suggested coming here.

"... Um, okay? Goodbye."

* * *

The next day when Umi went to the student council office to study Nozomi wasn't there but Eli was and she said,

"Hey Umi, you here to study again?"

"I am. Is that alright?"

"Of course it is. I would've said something a long time ago if it wasn't."

"Oh... that makes sense." Umi felt like she said something dumb.

"Yeah, but even if I wasn't okay with it, Nozomi would make sure you could be here regardless of what I said. She really does like you, Umi."

"Really? Lately she seems to be distant with me. Come to think of it, where is she right now?"

"I don't know. Since it's her, I wouldn't doubt that she's hiding in the closet spying on us or something."

"Ha-ha, she would do something like that!"

Eli and Umi giggled for a second and then Eli said, "Umi, please sit down now. You're agitating me by just standing there."

"Sorry... do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"I don't care Umi, but you know, your politeness is only cute for a little bit, then it gets annoying."

Umi couldn't believe how rude Eli was being to her today but she sat next to her anyway.

"I know that it's none of my business but is something bothering you, Eli?"

"Nothing in particular. It's just 'one of those days'. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Yes, like when every little thing irritates you. It happens to me sometimes."

"Exactly! Girls can be so moody, especially Nozomi. She's extremely sensitive."

"I didn't know that. Do you think that's why she's avoiding me?"

Eli tilted her head in confusion and said, "I'm not quite following. Did you say or do something to her that would make her resentful? Not that you are capable of being mean to a senpai, but she over-reacts to pretty much everything."

"Well, we went to the archery range together and she left immediately after she took her first shot. I'd understand if the shot was lousy but she did well. I said, 'That was great for a beginner.' and-"

Eli interrupted, "Hold up. I think I understand what happened. You shot before she did, correct?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"You are a seasoned archer and Nozomi isn't. Nozomi knows this but she still compared her abilities with yours. Man, when will she ever learn..."

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"No it isn't! How she acts is selfish! When you put yourself down for stupid reasons you're thinking about yourself way too much."

"I meant that you're amazing for knowing that much about Nozomi, not that her behavior was amazing."

"Oh... well, it's not like I researched her or anything. When you date a person for over 2 years you get pretty acquainted with their ugly side."

"I forgot that you two dated. I'm sorry that it didn't work out."

"It's not a big deal. I mean, people break up all the time and then they find someone else. It's just life. I think she has her eye on you so if you decide to pursue her too, be careful. She's a handful."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Don't let what I say discourage you though. Nozomi is a wonderful girl if you know how to put up with some of her antics. Unfortunately, I was unable to."

"I see... I'm bad at tuning in to people's emotions and since Nozomi is so good at that maybe we'd... we'd make a good pair?" Umi blushed at her statement.

"Maybe..." Eli may or may not have been jealous; hard to tell.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nozomi was chilling out in the closet in the back of the student council room. Where else would she be at a time like this? If people were talking about her she knew because Nozomi knows everything! (That's why her name is Know-zomi!)... Nah, she just wanted to eavesdrop. She kind of wished she didn't though because Eli said some hurtful things about her but it did give her some perspective on how her behavior was affecting Umi.

She decided to stay hidden until Eli went away which didn't happen for a few hours. Standing up in a tiny place like that for that long took dedication and strong leg muscles.

"Alright Umi, I'm heading out now. Make sure that everything is put away before you leave."

"Okay, see you later." Umi waved goodbye.

"Finally, she's gone!" Thought Nozomi. The closet door started to open up but then all of a sudden a different door opened. It was Eli again. Apparently she forgot something and she was taking forever to find it.

"Damn it, Elichi! Hurry up! I need to talk to Umi-chan. Also, I'm hungry and I have to pee!" Nozomi almost said this out loud but she didn't.

Eli and Umi shuffled around the room for a bit in search of Eli's missing object.

"Found it! Thanks for helping me, Umi. Now I'm really going. See ya!"

"Bye! Take care!"

It was Nozomi's time to shine. The closet door swung open with a bang which startled Umi.

"Wah! W-what was that!?"

Umi turned around and found Nozomi on the floor because she tripped and fell in the process of making a grand entrance. By instinct, Umi went to assist Nozomi.

"Nozomi!? Are you alright? What were you doing in there?"

After being helped up by Umi, Nozomi answered, "Oh, hi there Umi-chan! I'm fine and dandy, except for the fact that Elichi was gossiping about me. I just thought it would be fun to spy on you two but I never thought that you'd be talking about me."

"So you heard everything? I know that we joked about you being in the closet but you actually were in there... Sorry about all that. We weren't saying anything bad about you. You may have interpreted it that way but I think that Eli is just concerned about you and the way you go about things and I agree with her."

"Umi-chan, I've been out of the closet for a long time now."

"But you literally just came out a few seconds ago..."

"That joke flew right over your head, didn't it?"

"What joke?"

"Never mind, but guess what?"

"What?"

"I realized some stuff from that conversation you had with Elichi."

"You did?"

"Yeah, 3 things actually.

1\. I am way too critical of myself.

2\. Elichi is still in love with me.

3\. Umi-chan is just as sweet as she usually is."

At first, Umi didn't know how to respond to this. The first and third points weren't as shocking as the second one so perhaps she should ask about it.

"Nozomi, I'm glad that you recognize that you have some insecurities that need to be addressed. I personally have my own issues to overcome regarding my tendency to be reserved most of the time so you aren't alone in that aspect. Also, I'm flattered that you think so highly of me but I'm not all that pleasant to be around. Anyway, I was wondering, why do you think that Eli is still in love with you? You don't have to answer if you don't want to though. I'm just curious."

"Oh Umi-chan, stop it with the negative self-talk! You are very pleasant to be around. I know this sounds hypocritical coming from me but don't sell yourself short. You're amazing in many ways."

"Thanks." Umi has trouble accepting compliments so Nozomi's comment made her feel a little uncomfortable.

"About Elichi being in love with me, it's totally obvious, at least for me it is. She shows signs of jealousy and tries to put on a tough front when talking about me but I can see right through her. She still respects me as well, although, some of her remarks are kinda uncalled for."

"Yeah... Do you still love her too?"

"That's a difficult question. I don't love her romantically anymore but I do love her as a friend. I'd even go so far as to say that we are best friends but we need our space right now. In the meantime, I'd like to be single but it's hard because I have this growing attraction towards you. I wasn't going to tell you but..."

"Me too! I like you too Nozomi!", declared Umi. "But I don't want to jump the gun and end up messing up our friendship. I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry. I feel the same way. Let's just enjoy each day as it comes and if things are meant to be then so be it. I can use my cards to predict an outcome but I think we should figure this out by ourselves."

"Yes, that's a good idea. You say some very inspiring things, Nozomi. Can I quote you in some of my songs?"

"That would be awesome! If possible, let's have them all be Lily White songs."

"Sure, but what about Rin?"

"Rin is Rin. She doesn't care what we sing about as long as she can dance to it. I do have something to admit though."

"And what would that be?"

"When we went mountain climbing that one time I made that quote about having the courage to give up on a whim because Rin was struggling and you were so enthusiastic about getting to the top. I wanted to help Rin but you wouldn't listen to me unless I used empowering words."

"Poor Rin... I feel kind of bad about it now, but your quote is still meaningful even though the intentions of it were strange."

"Ha-ha! I said a bunch of weird things that day, didn't I?"

"You did and so did I. Again, poor Rin. She was so confused. She saw a different side of us that not many people know about."

"Well, I hope that we can expose more of these traits as time goes on."

"Yeah, that would be nice... Say, Nozomi?"

"Yes?"

"Um, can we go out for parfaits? I always wanted to do that with you..."

Both Umi and Nozomi blushed for different reasons. Umi didn't know that "going out for parfaits" was code for "going to Nozomi's apartment to do ecchi things".

Nozomi appropriately responded with, "You see, going out for parfaits was me and Elichi's thing but how about we go eat some barbecued meat? I wanna see Umi-chan get sauce all over her face."

"Okay, but I assure you that I won't make any sort of mess. I am a proper young lady."

"Good luck with that. You don't know what you're getting into 'young lady'."

"Oh yeah? I'll prove you wrong!"

"Let's see you try. Race ya to the front gate?"

Before Umi could answer, Nozomi took off.

"Hey, wait up!"

In conclusion, Nozomi and Umi had a wonderful time and they learned a lot about each other. Also, Umi didn't just get sauce all over her face but she got it in her hair as well.

* * *

**Afterword**

If you can't tell, I had trouble ending this... It could've continued but I feared that it would've dragged on and got boring. About that dominant eye thing, I bet about half of you tried it. (If not, try it. It really works!) Anyway, thanks for reading as always. It's incredible how shippable everyone in LoveLive is so let's keep these ships sailing and come up with our next pairing! Of course, I'll need your help to do so. Here are the rules to voting in case you don't knew them already:

[**Rules: 1.** The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter **2.** The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. **3.** If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. **4.** If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. **5.** No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) **6.** Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki, HonoMaki, NozoNico, HonoAnju, NozoUmi

Past winners: Bleach010915, kryuu27, Rin Hoshizora, VariantEiko, GATX105VividPanzer, Rakugei, elliemei, Kevincruelz, cielo oscuro, Bucchan


	11. UmiMaki

It was a normal day at a normal school and two seemingly normal people were working on a song together in a normal room but the lyricist was distracted by something that the composer said and that was throwing off her productivity, which normally isn't acceptable so she had to fix this.

"Um, Maki...?"

"What? I'm busy so make it quick." Apparently Maki got up on the wrong side of the bed today.

"Ah, never mind then."

"No, tell me, or else it will bother me for the rest of the day."

"I've just been thinking about something that you said a while ago but it's irrelevant to the situation so forget it."

Maki smacked her forehead in frustration and growled, "Out with it already!"

"Okay... Do you remember when Kotori was causing a lot of drama that one time?"

"She always seems to be causing drama. It's weird too because she's the most normal person around."

"Yes, that's what I was getting to! You said that Kotori was the most normal second-year and I wanted to know why you think that she's more normal than I am."

"And why are you thinking about that at this very moment?"

"I don't know. I can't control what thoughts pop into my head at any given time. I wish I could though. Life would be much more simple then."

"Well life sucks, but here's your answer: You're too shy. Like, you're so antisocial that it's disturbing and you can make some pretty scary faces."

"Seriously? Am I really that bad?"

"You aren't bad. Those are just the reasons why I think you're not as normal as Kotori. You certainly aren't the strangest person I know; that would be Nozomi. She's way out there."

"Hah, I agree! I'm sorry for bothering you with my question. You can continue with your composition now."

"Alright, you should start working on your lyrics too."

"I probably should but I wanted to try something new this time."

"Something new?" It was unusual for Umi to suggest doing something in a non-conventional way.

"Yes, I want to write the lyrics after I hear the music. Basically, I will read the mood that the music gives off and pick words that go along with it."

"You sure? That takes a lot of skill to do. That's like me writing music just based on the lyrics you provide me... Hold on, that might actually make things easier! We should work as a team more often if this goes smoothly."

"That would be nice. We never get to spend time alone together."

Maki's eyes got wide. She couldn't believe that Umi could say something like that so nonchalantly.

"Umi, do you realize what you just said?"

"Did I say something odd? I said that we never get to spend time alone toget- Oh my gosh! I didn't mean for it to sound like that! I only meant that-"

"I know what you meant! Quit talking! You're making things more awkward!"

"S-sorry!"

The two of them looked in the opposite directions and they didn't plan on making eye contact anytime soon. They still stuck to their plan of action though. Maki did her best to arrange notes but now she was just as distracted as Umi was earlier. She was tapping her pencil against her notebook paper at an alarming rate due to anxiety. It was like she was rehearsing a percussion piece to go along with the piano.

Umi, on the other hand, was frozen solid but that was okay for now because she didn't have to do anything. In all actuality, she would rather have something to do because it might take her mind off of the embarrassing conversation that she just had with Maki... But then she thought about it even harder and determined that no matter what she did that conversation would still be floating around in her head and invading her thoughts.

While Umi was battling her conflicting feelings Maki just kept sighing. She was getting really stressed out with this song but she was adamant on getting it done so she kept at it. Her audible frustration in the form of aggravated grunts and the occasional "tch"s were getting on Umi's nerves; so much that Umi was considering volunteering to do the writing first and then have Maki make the music later.

Umi thawed herself out and mustered up the courage to suggest that Maki take a break.

"Um, excuse me Maki, but it seems that you are really struggling with that. Would you like to go with me to get a drink from the vending machine?"

No answer. Maki was so engrossed with her work that she didn't hear Umi at all so Umi touched Maki's shoulder to get her attention. This startled Maki and she turned around to chew Umi out.

"Wah! That scared me, Umi! Don't ever do something like that again!"

"Sorry..."

"Don't apologize, tell me what you wanted to tell me."

"I was just inviting you to accompany me to the vending machine to get a drink."

"Oh, well, I'm not finished with this one part yet so you're gonna have to go by yourself. Is that okay?"

"Actually..." Going alone would sort of defeat the whole purpose of going but Umi would rather do something pointless than argue with Maki.

"'Actually' what?"

"Actually, I don't mind going alone. I'll be back soon."

"Take your time."

* * *

When Umi left the room Maki went and took the break that she so desperately needed. She held off doing it while Umi was around because she didn't want to show off any signs of weakness.

This was also a chance for her to have a conversation with herself too.

"Geez, Umi sure is bothersome. I respect her and everything but it takes her forever to say what she needs to say... She's cute though so I can't help but overlook that."

There was a pause in her monologue before Maki re-evaluated what she just said.

"Wait, she's not cute! Pretty maybe but not cute! Ugh... It's all her fault. I can't stop thinking about weird things after what she said earlier. Now this is something that's unforgivable."

With that self-misunderstanding cleared up, Maki shuffled through her neatly organized bag to get a granola bar. She figured that eating something might make her focus better.

After a few bites of her granola bar, Maki said,

"I'm thirsty. I wonder if Umi will get me some juice while she's out..."

Luckily for Maki, Umi did plan on getting Maki something to drink but there was one problem; Umi forgot to ask Maki what she wanted!

* * *

Umi approached the vending machine and observed the variety of beverages that it had to offer. It had things ranging from warm soups to ice-cold water. The variety was overwhelming.

"How could I forget to ask her!? I'm so dumb! Oh well, I guess I'll pick something and hope that she likes it."

With a few button clicks and a couple of coins inserted into the machine, Umi was now holding both a can and a box of liquid. The box contained apple juice and the can held black coffee. The coffee was for Maki because Umi assumed that someone as "sophisticated" as Maki would enjoy it. This proved not to be the case.

"I'm back." Umi walked through the door and placed Maki's coffee on the small table in the room. Maki grabbed it and returned to the piano. She didn't take a good look at the drink before taking a swig of it. She figured it was hot chocolate considering the color and temperature of it. The flavor of the drink didn't match Maki's expectations though. Couple the element of surprise with the fact that the coffee was bitter and the result was Maki gagging while trying to swallow it.

"I didn't know what you wanted so I got you some coffee. Do you like coffee?"

Maki faced Umi and trying to hide her disgust she said,

"Yeah, it's good."

"I'm glad. Don't worry about paying me back either. It wasn't very expensive."

"Okay then, thanks."

"You're welcome. Enjoy."

"Enjoy, she says...", Maki thought to herself while eyeing the can of caffeinated bean water. "She means well but I don't know if I can finish this. Maybe I'll try to take a few more sips of it and then ask if she'll drink the rest."

So Maki brought the can up to her mouth again and tilted it back. She had the same reaction as before.

"Yuck, I can't do this! I could spill it on purpose but then I'd have to clean up the mess and it could hurt her feelings. No, I can't do that..."

Umi interrupted Maki's train of thought.

"Are you okay, Maki? It looks like something is troubling you."

Umi was sipping on her apple juice in an unknowingly tempting way which sort of pissed off Maki to a degree.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm perfectly fine."

"Are you sure? You look a bit under the weather. You seemed alright a minute ago too."

"You think so? I don't feel sick at all."

"I see... I guess I made the wrong judgement then, but I'm happy to know that you are feeling well."

"Thanks, and don't worry about it. I should really get back to work though so-"

"Hold on, I wanted to ask you if you wanted the rest of my juice. I can't finish it."

Umi held out the juice box in front of her while Maki had several thoughts run through her head like,

"What should I do!? I really want it since I'm thirsty but she already drank out of it which means if I drank it, it would be like an indirect k-kiss! I could take out the straw and drink it like that but that might offend Umi if she saw me... Wait, this is ridiculous! Who cares if it's an indirect kiss! It's not like I like her or anything... Do I? No, this isn't the time to be thinking about this! Screw it, I'll just take the juice and drink it like normal. That's the mature thing to do... Actually, the mature thing to do would be to say no and just finish the coffee, but then I'd still be thirsty and I might even throw up-"

"Maki?" Umi snapped Maki back to reality.

"Huh?"

"I offered you the rest of my juice and you just sort of stared at me. I'll ask again, do you want this juice or not?"

"Uh, sure... Say, would you like the rest of my coffee in exchange?"

"Sorry, but I don't like coffee. I thought you did so you should drink it. It is yours after all."

Maki was done pretending to like coffee because it was too much of a hassle so she came clean.

"Honestly, I don't like coffee either."

"You don't? But you told me that-"

"I know I told you that I liked it! I only said that because I wanted you to think that I was mature." Maki got all bashful after telling Umi the "harsh" truth.

Umi just giggled and that made Maki kind of mad.

"What are you laughing at!?

"I already had the impression that you were mature, Maki. That's why I figured that you would like coffee and I didn't want to insult you by getting you something 'childish' like juice, but it doesn't mean that you aren't mature just because you don't like coffee."

"Oh..." Maki felt kind of dumb right now. That kind of logic proved that she was immature regardless of whether or not she liked coffee.

"Anyway, here." Umi gave the juice box to Maki.

"Thank you Umi, but what should I do with the coffee now?"

Suddenly there was a mischievous look on Umi's face.

"Well you see, Honoka has been playing a lot of pranks on me recently and I want to get back at her for it. Maybe I'll trick her into thinking that the coffee is hot chocolate and get a good reaction out of her."

"That's what happened to me today!"

"You thought the coffee was hot chocolate? But it says 'coffee' on the label..."

"Way to go Maki. You just made yourself look like an even bigger idiot.", thought Maki. She still had to answer Umi's question yet.

"Well, I didn't bother to read what it said and it did resemble a can of hot chocolate at first glance."

"That's understandable. Anyway, how is that song coming along?"

"I'm stuck. I can't come up with anything."

"Do you want me to write the lyrics first then? I thought of some phrases that I'd like to use."

Giving up wasn't something that Maki would normally do. She already gave up with the coffee thing and if she gave up on the composition that was one more defeat to add to her short list but she concluded that letting Umi do the lyrics first would be the most productive route to take.

"Go ahead. I trust that you'll be able to do it. You don't have to complete the whole thing. I just need the chorus and maybe a verse for now. While you do that I'm going to practice some of our older songs on the piano."

"Okay."

* * *

Now that most of the tension from earlier had dissipated Umi was able to focus on her words and the background music that Maki provided was a good motivator. Maki was also humming along as she played and it was very soothing but then a wild thought appeared.

"Wow. She's incredible! I knew she was talented but not this talented! I can't believe I never recognized how amazing Maki is at the piano until now. I wish I was the only person that she would play for. No, that's selfish of me. I'm not special to her in any way. Great, now I'm thinking about strange things again but I can't let that get to me. I can't let Maki down."

Umi eventually finished the chorus and gave it to Maki for review. After about 20 seconds (which felt like 20 minutes to Umi) Maki asked,

"Is this a love song?"

"I don't believe so..."

"What do you mean, 'you don't believe so'? You're the one who wrote the song. Shouldn't you know what the lyrics mean?"

"I-It's nothing like that! I just wrote down whatever came to mind!"

"Relax. It's good, but I thought we scrapped the "love song" idea in episode 20."

"Episode 20? Why are you saying that like we were in a TV show? More importantly, this isn't a love song!"

"Well, whatever sort of song it is, I suppose I can work with it. Give me a minute. I'll be able to come up with the melody before it's time to go home."

"Sure. I'll start on a verse in the meantime."

* * *

They were at it again. Maki studied Umi's words constantly and muttered them to herself all while pressing one individual key on the piano at a time. Through the process of trial and error, she arranged and rearranged notes until they formed a pleasant tune. She translated the music into written notation and let Umi know that she was done.

"Alright Umi, I think this should do it. It's far from completion though. I only have the basics down but I'll mess around with the details later."

"That's good to hear."

Umi was contemplating on asking Maki to perform the piece but she didn't out of fear. Luckily for Umi, Maki volunteered to do it herself.

"I'm going to play you a sample and when I'm done I want you to tell me what you think of it. Don't lie to me out of courtesy either because if you do, you'd not just be lying to me but you'd be lying to the rest of Muse and our fans as well."

"Understood. I will critique you fairly."

"Thank you. H-here I go..."

Maki normally didn't get performance anxiety but she had it now. Her hands were a tad shaky and her voice cracked a little bit. This was most likely because Umi was looking at her with intense anticipation.

"... Umi, please don't look at me like that. It makes me nervous."

"Sorry, I won't look at you then."

"No, you can look at me, but don't make such a creepy face. I know that you're excited to hear your own words sung out loud but still..."

"I know Maki and again, I apologize. I'll try to appear professional to the best of my ability."

"Um, okay." That's what Maki said but her actual thoughts were, "'Appear professional to the best of my ability?' Who talks like that to their friend? Could it be that she just thinks of me as a business partner and not a friend!? I don't get it. We were acting friendly before so what changed? That's right, nothing changed. It's all in my head. We're just in work mode right now... Still, her speech pattern is way too polite."

"Excuse me, Maki. I'm afraid that I can't review your song unless you sing it first..."

"Ah, sorry about that. I got lost in thought for a second but I'll sing now." Maki couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Umi made a somewhat sarcastic remark that didn't sound sarcastic at all due to how innocently it was said.

* * *

Before Maki started, Umi gave her a warm smile that magically cleared the fog of fear. Maki began singing at the piano and Umi instantly fell into a trance which stayed in effect the entire duration of the chorus.

"Woah! She sang my song!", thought Umi. "It was like she meant every word that she sang! Is this some kind of dream? This can't be real. Nobody can sing that well. It's like she's an angel... Maybe she really is an angel! Does that mean that I'm dead now!? I don't want to be dead! I still need to tell her how I feel!... Huh? Where did that come from? It must be the lyrics that are getting to me. Yes, that makes sense. They say music is a powerful drug after all. It alters your brain's chemistry. It's not my fault... but I was the one who wrote them in the first place!... but it's not the words that effect the brain, it's the tones which means that it's Maki's fault."

"Hellooo? You in there?" Maki was waving her hand in front of Umi's face to get her attention. Umi blinked a few times and made eye contact with Maki who said,

"So, what did you think?"

"It..." Umi paused mid sentence for dramatic effect.

"It?"

"It was spectacular Maki! I could really feel my words coming to life!"

"T-that's too much praise. It wasn't that great. I only played simple chords along with it. The end result will sound much different. I plan on making it a duet."

"A duet? Who will be singing it?"

"You and I."

"A-are you serious!?"

"Why is that so surprising? I think having a bunch of people sing it would bog down the intense emotion of it."

"I understand that part, but why do I have to sing it?"

"This a dual project, Umi, and you and I are a team. Remember?"

"R-right..." said Umi bashfully.

Maki glanced at the clock hanging up on the wall. It was 5:03 PM.

"Well, I suppose I should get going now. My parents will be mad if I miss dinner again. The last time I was late for dinner Mama made me watch a bunch of filler episodes from this one shounen anime. I wasn't allowed to fall asleep either. You could say that I was thoroughly bored."

Umi had no idea what Maki was talking about but she assumed that it was something bad.

"That sounds rough. I'll let you go then. Thanks for helping me out today. I look forward to collaborating with you again."

Maki had enough of Umi's rigid speech patterns so she said,

"Collaborating? Umi, you don't have to be so formal with me. I'm not good at saying things like this but friendship comes first... or something? I think that's what Honoka said?"

Umi seemed to be confused at what Maki was trying to get at. Maki noticed that so she continued,

"Um... basically I'm saying that we should be more casual around each other. I know that we're co-workers at the moment but we are friends above all else... Geez, look at what you're making me say!"

Umi started laughing at Maki's hilarious reaction to her own words. Maki was scowling at first but then her frown softened into a smile and then into a few giggles until she was in full blown laughing mode too.

"Haha, you're funny, Maki...-chan?"

"'Maki-chan!?' You don't have to be that casual! Just call me Maki! Maki is perfectly fine!"

"Oh, sorry..."

"... but maybe I'll let you call me that someday."

_And there folks is the rare creature known as a "dere". It inhabits the planet Tsundere which is located in the Trope Galaxy. Dere are known for their sweet and gentle nature, unlike their close brethren, the tsun, who tend to be quite ferocious._

Both Umi and Maki were both feeling awkward again. Then Umi remembered that she wasn't the only person that called Maki "Maki-chan" so she decided to question her about that.

"But don't other people call you that?"

"Call me what?"

"M-Ma..."

"'Mama?' Nobody better call me that!"

Umi pictured Maki as a single mother trying to figure out how to change a diaper. It was kind of cute but the picture was missing something. Umi didn't have time to find out what it lacked because she had to correct herself right away.

"No! I just stuttered! What I meant say was, don't other people call you... 'Maki-chan'?"

"They do, but it sounds weird when you say it for some reason... but if saying it allows you to generally speak more casually around me then I guess it can't be helped."

"No, it's alright. I have a hard time saying it as it is. Anyway, don't you have to leave now?"

Maki glanced at the clock once more and panicked.

"Oh my God! Thanks for reminding me!"

Maki snatched up her stuff as quickly as possible but right as she was about to exit the room she turned around and said,

"T-thanks for everything, Umi. Let's do our best tomorrow too."

Umi nodded her head and sent Maki off with a smile.

* * *

**[The next day]**

Maki and Umi were back in the music room after sitting in class all day and getting annoyed when a classmate did normal student things like: nap, eat lunch early, draw, fiddle around with their writing utensils, talk to the person next to them when the teacher was talking, pass notes, write fanfiction, and do whatever else they aren't suppose to do.

"So Umi, are you ready to continue working on our song?"

"I am, but before that, how did dinner go last night?"

"It was good until I had to digest my food in front of unfamiliar cartoon characters doing things that I couldn't care less about. It was worth it though because you and I had a good conversation."

Umi bowed and said, "I apologize for hindering you, but at least you you were able to see the positive side of your misfortune. Also, I enjoyed talking with you as well."

"Are you being serious right now or are you just mocking me?"

"...What?" said Umi meekly. She forgot that Maki wanted her to speak more casually.

Maki sighed when she realized that Umi didn't remember.

"We'll work on your speech pattern another day. Our song is more important."

"Right..."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the student council room...

"That was nice of Umi-chan to buy you a drink, Honoka-chan.", said Kotori

"Yeah. She told me that it was hot chocolate but this tastes like coffee. Oh well, I like coffee too!"

* * *

**Afterword**

Did you all enjoy your cruise on the S.S. UmiMaki? If not, I am afraid that I can't refund your time but thanks for coming along for the journey with me anyway. Moving along... I've been really light on the yuri in these past few chapters so I want to step it up a notch next time. I also want to possibly do a more AU but not quite AU thing next chapter so please take those two things into consideration before voting. You can vote with a review. Here are the guidelines:

[**Rules: 1.** The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter **2.** The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. **3.** If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. **4.** If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. **5.** No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) **6.** Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki, HonoMaki, NozoNico, HonoAnju, NozoUmi, UmiMaki

Past winners: Bleach010915, kryuu27, Rin Hoshizora, VariantEiko, GATX105VividPanzer, Rakugei, elliemei, Kevincruelz, cielo oscuro, Bucchan, FanReader09


	12. NozoMaki

**[Entry 1- 2/26/14]**

Um, hi there? I'm Maki... Wait, why am I introducing myself to an inanimate object!? Ugh, this is stupid. I wanted to start a journal because I heard that it was an effective way to vent your feelings and I have a hard time doing that with people but I don't think I can follow through with this. I might try again tomorrow but I don't know yet.

* * *

**[Entry 2- 2/27/14]**

I've decided to come back to this. Giving up right away is cowardly so I should at least give it a chance.

Okay, I'll start with what's bothering me the most. You see, my third-year friend, Nozomi, has been acting odd lately. (She's already odd as it is but acting she's even more odd.) She's notorious for groping people and she's done it to me before but over the past few weeks I've noticed that I've been her primary target. She still touches the other girls but it seems like she does it to me the most. It could just be my imagination but I don't think so. I'm not sure if there's a reason for it or not but it's been irking me quite a bit and I'd like to get to the bottom of it. The confusing part is that I've gotten pretty used to her frequent stimulation and it even feels good sometimes... I can't believe that I just admitted that! This is my journal though and it's not like anyone else going to read it so I should be fine, but still, that's so wrong.

I also get angry inside when I see her "messing around" with everyone else. Why is that? I want to ask her about all of this but what would be an appropriate approach? I can't just bring it up to her out of the blue... Can I? I've been putting on a tough front for as long as I can remember so tearing that down so suddenly would be extremely out of character for me, but maybe I don't have to stop being that way. I could just be assertive like I was that one time when I questioned her and Eli about their weird behavior regarding that love song we were going to write. Yeah, that seemed to work pretty well, but would that be the best way to go about this particular problem? They are very different circumstances after all. Damn, this is really stressing me out. I should change the subject.

Hmm, let's see... Oh, yeah. Rin has been getting on my nerves a lot. She's so noisy and obnoxious. It doesn't help that we sit next to each other in class either. She asks to borrow stuff all the time too, like erasers and such, and forgets to return them. I have no idea how Hanayo puts up with her. Maybe it's a childhood friend thing. I've had this growing suspicion that they like each other in a romantic way but that's none of my business.

* * *

**[Entry 3- 3/2/14]**

Well, today I decided to question Nozomi about why she's doing what she's doing to me because I couldn't stand the mental torment of not knowing. She says the reason behind it was because I've been "giving off vibes of wanted attention" and that I require "extra spiritual power". What the hell does that mean!? She's so strange. Then she says that my breasts are the perfect size for squeezing! I'm pretty sure that they're about average for my age; nothing special. I don't know what she sees in them actually. Is this sexual harassment? I really don't know what to think anymore.

Before I forget, I wanted to mention that Rin and Hanayo are officially dating. I'm happy for them but can two girls seriously be together? I know that girlxgirl relationships are common at all-girls schools but can they last outside of a school setting after graduation?

That reminds me, the third years will be graduating soon. Everybody is aware of it but nobody's discussing it since we agreed not to, at least not yet. This could be a good thing but I can really feel the tension whenever we're all together and it's almost unbearable at times. What will happen to Muse? Will we have to disband? I don't want to but that may be what it boils down to. Muse isn't Muse if it's not all 9 of us. The first years and the second years could form a new idol group but it just wouldn't be the same... Great, now I'm getting sad. I'm going to go read a book before I go to bed to lift my spirits. Goodnight.

* * *

**[Entry 4- 3/6/14]**

Today was an emotional day. Nozomi pulled me aside to talk to me after practice. She said she noticed that I looked really down and asked if she could help in any way. I said no since there really wasn't anything she could do but then she hugged me and said that everything will be alright. I started crying uncontrollably which isn't like me at all but I couldn't help it. She didn't judge me for it and was very understanding. She didn't interrogate me nor did she put me under any sort of pressure whatsoever (except for the pressure of her body from her hug). That's the first time that anyone has comforted me like that in a long time and I felt very safe in her arms despite all of her previous perverted actions towards me. There was some sort of unexplained divine connection that occurred between us as well. I don't believe in things like gods or miracles but I can't think of anything in the physical realm that could explain that feeling... Geez, what has gotten into me these days? Are my defensive walls crumbling little by little? Is it because I'm becoming more mature? Who knows...

Anyway, the Love Live is coming up soon and I need to focus all of my attention and energy on that so I'm going to be taking a break from this journal until after the competition. I hope that everything goes smoothly but even it doesn't I know that my friends will be there for me and I will be there for them. Being a part of Muse has been the best thing that that has ever happened to me and I hope to make the most of every last moment that we have together.

* * *

**Afterword:**

I have no comments at this time. That's a first.

Here are the rules to voting for the next chapter:

[**Rules: 1.** The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter **2.** The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. **3.** If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. **4.** If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. **5.** No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) **6.** Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki, HonoMaki, NozoNico, HonoAnju, NozoUmi, UmiMaki, NozoMaki

Past winners: Bleach010915, kryuu27, Rin Hoshizora, VariantEiko, GATX105VividPanzer, Rakugei, elliemei, Kevincruelz, cielo oscuro, Bucchan, FanReader09, Schneezee


	13. NicoRin

It was a quiet day in the club room and Nico was sitting by herself at the table reading a fashion magazine minding her own business when Rin barged in and caused a ruckus.

"Nyaaaaah! Nico-chan!", cried Rin as she lunged onto Nico's shoulders from behind.

"Rin!? What's wrong!?"

"M-me and Kayo-chin *sniffle* had a fight!" Rin whaled even louder and Nico broke out into laughter.

"Ahaha! You?... Hanayo?... Fighting!? That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

"Come on, Nico-chan! I'm being serious!"

Nico quieted herself and pried Rin off of her.

"Alright, have a seat. Super psychologist Nico-Ni will help you out."

Rin stopped crying right away.

"Really? Thank you Nico-chan!" She latched onto Nico again out of gratitude.

"I thought I told you to sit down..."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Rin got up and went to the the other side of the table across from Nico.

* * *

"Explain to me what happened." Nico swiftly picked up the pen and the pad of paper that were conveniently placed next to her and pushed up her pair of imaginary glasses to look professional.

"Earlier, Kayo-chin and I were trying to figure out what to have for dinner since we were gonna eat together tonight and-"

"Hanayo... dinner... uh-huh..." Nico mumbled to herself as she jotted down some notes. "Okay, continue."

"She wanted rice and I wanted ramen. Then-"

"Rice... ramen...", interrupted Nico again.

"Nico-chan, that's really distracting..."

"Nico... distracting...", Nico kept on writing. Rin got mad at her for it so she confiscated the notepad. A line of ink from the pen marked the paper because the notepad was jerked out of Nico's hands so quickly.

"Hey! What are you doing!?"

"Um, could you please stop that? It's kinda hard for me to tell my story when you keep writing stuff while I'm talking."

"Rin, that's what psychologists do."

"But you aren't a psychologist; you're Nico-chan."

"... Fair enough. I won't take notes but hurry it up or else I won't remember what you said."

"Rin will do her best. Okay, so, we had to share whatever it was that we ate because we only had one meal ticket for our favorite restaurant and neither of us had enough money to buy another meal. I was going to be nice and let Kayo-chin get her rice but then she offered to get ramen. We kept arguing about what to order so I ripped the ticket in half. I took one half and gave her the other because I thought maybe we could each get a half serving of what we wanted. She told me that it didn't work that way. I felt really bad about what I did so I ran away from her and canceled our plans. I think she's mad at me now. What should I do, Nico-chan?"

It took Nico a lot of willpower to keep herself from cracking up at Rin's ridiculous situation.

"Wow, that's quite a predicament you've got there. Have you talked to anyone else about this?"

"I asked Maki-chan to help me but she told me that she didn't want to get involved and everyone else was busy. I figured that you'd be available to talk to me since you're never doing anything important."

"What do you mean I'm never doing anything important!? I'm the club president! I do lots of important things!"

"Do reading magazines and playing on the computer really count as 'important things'?", asked Rin with skepticism.

"Of course they do! It's called research. This is the 'Idol Research Club' after all, but that's besides the point. This is about you, not me, and I have a suggestion for you."

"A suggestion?"

"Yes, a suggestion. Do you not know what a suggestion is?"

"I know what a suggestion is. I was just wondering what your suggestion was."

"My suggestion is that you and Hanayo give each other some space for a while."

"But Kayo-chin is my best friend! I can't do that!"

"Sure you can. You just don't think you can."

Rin gave herself a moment to think things through and then said,

"Well, if Nico-chan says that it will work, I guess I could leave Kayo-chin alone for a little bit, but you have to keep me company or else I'll get lonely."

"No way. Go bother Maki or something." Nico didn't like the idea of babysitting her junior.

"Maki-chan's mean to me. Rin wants to be with Nico-chan.", said Rin sweetly. Nico couldn't reject her now.

"I suppose I could keep you company but don't get in my way. Got it?"

"Yay! Thank you Nico-chan!" Rin hugged Nico again for the third time today. Nico didn't push her off this time but simply asked,

"Rin, why are you hugging me so much?"

"Because Nico-chan is nice to me, and she's so tiny and cute too." She squeezed Nico even tighter which made Nico have trouble breathing.

"Okay, I get the point but you're kind of hurting me."

"Oops, sorry." Rin let go right away.

* * *

Nico went back to reading her magazine (reading as in looking at pictures) and Rin sat right next to her so she could see what Nico was "reading" about.

"Ooh! That's a pretty dress!" Rin marveled as she pointed to a model wearing some fashionable clothing in the magazine.

"I know, right.", agreed Nico as she turned the page.

"Look Nico-chan, this shirt is so sparkly!"

"Uh-huh."

"And this skirt is super colorful!"

"It is."

"Wow! Those shoes are adorable!"

"Yep." Nico was starting to get annoyed by Rin's frequent commentary.

"Oh my gosh! What a lovely hair pin!"

"Hey Rin, could it be that you're actually into feminine things like this?"

A blush crept up onto Rin's face. She didn't get flustered that easily but when she did, it was because someone labeled her as "feminine" or "girly". It was her biggest weakness.

"N-not at all! I'm just appreciating your interests, Nico-chan.", was Rin's excuse.

"'Appreciating my interests', huh... but you seem to be more interested in this stuff than I am. How do you explain that?" Nico knew that Rin was lying so she used this opportunity to tease Rin into telling the truth.

"W-well... Um... I was only thinking that those clothes would look good on you and other people. I wouldn't wear them. I don't like flashy things like that. I like simple and comfortable things."

"Oh really? But you always look the happiest out of everyone when Kotori shows us a new idol outfit that she designed."

"That's not true. It's just that Rin is always happy."

"You weren't very happy when you stormed into the club room in tears earlier."

"I'm just having a bad day today."

"Rin, how long are you going to keep this fiasco up?", said Nico, crossing her arms.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Nico-chan."

Nico didn't say anything. She didn't have to. The look she gave Rin was so intimidating that it would've made even the most hardened criminal fess up. (She took facial expression lessons from Umi.)

Rin trembled in fear and forfeited.

"... Alright, fine. I lied. I'm sorry. Please don't tell anyone about this."

"I won't but why are you so persistent about keeping the fact that you like girly things a secret?"

"Because I'm very boyish."

After Rin said that, Nico lifted Rin's skirt and took a peek really quick. The results: light blue underwear with a little cat head on the front.

Rin freaked out.

"Nyaaah! Nico-chan! What are you doing so suddenly?!"

"I was checking to see if you're 'boyish' like you said you were. You look like a girl down there to me."

"That's not what I meant! Of course Rin is a girl! I'm just a boyish girl."

"No you're not."

"Yeah, my hair is short and my chest is small, just like a boy's."

Nico sighed at Rin's ignorance and responded,

"The length of your hair and the size of your boobs, which are bigger than mine by the way, have nothing to do with your femininity."

"Really?" Rin was feeling a bit more confident in herself after hearing that. It was unusual that it was Nico who said it but that made it all the more touching.

"Really. Plus, you could always grow out your hair if you wanted but you look good with it short too. It's also said that only the cutest girls can pull off short hair."

"But I'm not cute at all..."

"Yes you are, but your lack of self-confidence isn't. I'll work on improving that with you. I'm no professional but I can listen to your concerns and do the best I can to help you. I'm your senpai so it's my duty to guide you along."

Rin smiled and leaned over to give Nico a kiss on the cheek. This surprised Nico but she didn't hate it. Then Rin said,

"Thank you, Nico-chan! That means a lot to me. Um... I may not be of much use but you can talk to me about stuff too; anything at all."

"I'll keep that in mind. Also, one of these days I'm going to take you shopping with me and we'll pick you out some nice clothes. Then we'll have our own little fashion show. How does that sound?"

Rin's eyes lit up in excitement. She had always wanted to play dress-up and now Nico was giving her the chance.

"That would be awesome! Rin is really looking forward to it!"

Nico held up her hand to form a "stop" sign.

"Not so fast. Before we do anything fun you need to make up with Hanayo."

"How do I do that? She's not at school right now."

"You're going to call her and apologize. I'll tell you exactly what to say."

* * *

Rin got her phone out and dialed Hanayo's number which was already on speed-dial. She put it on speaker phone so Nico could hear the conversation and after a few rings Hanayo answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi Kayo-chin!"

"Rin-chan?! Where are you?!"

Rin looked at Nico who began to whisper words for Rin to say.

"I'm in the club room with Nico-chan. Anyway, I'm sorry for what I did today. I shouldn't have run away from you."

"Thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried about you! I tried looking for you but you were nowhere to be found and you weren't answering your phone either."

"I didn't mean to worry you, Kayo-chin. I just thought you were mad at me so I left."

"Oh Rin-chan, I'm not mad at you at all."

"You're not?"

"Nope. In fact, I thought you were angry with me."

"I could never be angry at Kayo-chin!"

"That's good. I could never be angry at you either."

"Aw, you're the best!... but um, K-kayo-chin, can I... talk to you about something?" Rin's voice started shaking because she was nervous about breaking the news to Hanayo that they need to spend less time together.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well... I was thinking that it might be good for us to not be around each other as much as we normally are and that we should try be with other people more, at least for now. That way we won't take the time we do spend together for granted. What do you say?" Rin was expecting the worst but Hanayo was very understanding.

"That's fine, Rin-chan. I think it'll be beneficial for us... Anyway, are you having fun with Nico-chan?"

"Uh-huh! She's right next to me. Here, you can talk to her."

"Hey Hanayo!" Nico joined in on the phone call.

"Hi Nico-chan!"

"Hanayo, guess what!"

"What?"

"Rin's wearing panties with a cat on them. Did you know she had a pair like that?"

"Nico-chan! Don't say stuff like that!", blurted Rin in the background.

"No, I didn't know that. How cute!"

"She showed them to me when-"

"Kayo-chin! Don't listen to her! It's not what you think!"

"Hahaha! You two seem to get along very well. I gotta go now though. I'll call you later, Rin-chan. It was nice talking to you too Nico-chan."

"Okay Kayo-chin. Bye bye!" Rin hit the "end call" button before Nico could say her goodbyes. Then she turned to face Nico and said furiously,

"Nico-chan, why did you say that?! Now Kayo-chin's gonna get the wrong idea..."

"Nah, I think she understood that I was goofing around... but it doesn't have to be a joke. I could make it a reality." Nico said the last part in a low, flirtatious voice while slowly creeping up closer to Rin.

"Ah, n-no, that won't be necessary... but thanks for the offer."

Nico backed off.

"Settle down. I was just kidding. Did you actually think I was making advances towards you?"

"Yeah... I did." You could tell that Rin was extremely embarrassed about that misunderstanding by the red tint that appeared across her face and by the way she was fidgeting around in her chair.

"Haha! You're really funny, you know that?"

Rin just pouted silently. To this Nico responded,

"Oh cheer up. I can't stand seeing you like this." Then she started petting Rin's head. Her hair felt silky smooth.

"Wow Rin, your hair is so soft and fluffy! What do you do with it?"

"What do I do with it?... I keep it on my head?"

"No, like, what kind of hair products do you use?"

"I use shampoo... Doesn't everyone?"

Nico was getting frustrated. You could hear it in her voice.

"That's not what I meant either! I'm asking, do you use a special type of hair gel or oil or something?"

Rin shook her head.

"Seriously?! I'm so jealous of you right now! I use all sorts of products yet my hair is flat and the ends are split." said Nico while stroking one of her pig tails. Rin did the same thing to the opposite one and said,

"Your hair is still nice though and it smells good. Can I play with it?"

"Uh... I guess so, but don't knot it up." Nico was bit uncomfortable with the thought of letting someone, especially someone as careless as Rin, mess with her hair but she went along with it because she felt bad for teasing Rin like that.

"Got it!" There was no hesitation when Rin stood up and reached for the ribbons that were holding up Nico's hair. With two flicks of the wrist, Nico's long black hair was draped over her shoulders.

"Nico-chan, why do you keep your hair up all the time? It looks really good down like this."

"Because pigtails are fashionable."

"But I didn't see any girls with pigtails in that magazine we were reading...", argued Rin while brushing Nico's hair with a rubbery bristled brush that was acquired from Nico's school bag. She was very gentle so the tangles effortlessly unraveled without causing Nico any pain. Then she put a lock of the combed hair across her top lip and tried to get Nico's attention.

"Hey Nico-chan!"

"What?" Nico turned around to see what Rin wanted.

"I must-ache you a question."

"Pfft!" Nico started giggling but composed herself right away.

"Rin, knock it off! You're so weird!" She swatted her hair away from Rin's face and continued, "Anyway, those weren't top of the line models. Trust me, pigtails are the 'in' thing these days and they always will be." Nico knew that pigtails were only popular amongst younger children but she couldn't tell Rin that the only reason she wore them was because nobody else that she knew had them.

"Oh, I see! Rin wants pigtails too!" She actually believed in Nico's nonsense.

"Your hair might not be long enough but I can try to tie it up for you. Switch spots with me."

"K."

The girls swapped places; Rin in the chair and Nico standing behind her. By chance, Nico had two green hair ties wrapped around her wrist so she used those in Rin's hair.

"Ow ow ow!" The elastic from the hair ties was pinching Rin as Nico was trying to fasten them.

"Hold still. I'm almost done... Alright, finished." Rin's hair was now tied up on each side and Nico took a step back to admire her work. Let's just say that Rin and pigtails don't go together.

"It's done?! I wanna see it!", exclaimed Rin impatiently.

Nico dug through her belongings and found a little studded hand mirror.

"Uh, here..." She gave the mirror to Rin who's expression changed from excitement to horror almost instantly after seeing her reflection. Two little horns of orange hair were awkwardly jutting out of the sides of her head.

"I... I look like Shrek!"

"You better check yourself before you Shrek yourself! Ahahaha!" Nico was now literally rolling the floor laughing.

Rin pounced on the floor-bound third-year and started tickling her to get revenge for both the wacky hair-do and that lame joke.

"Niii-cooo-chaaan! Nyaaah!"

"Kyaaa! S-stop it!" Nico wriggled under Rin's fingertips in total submission.

While those two were playing around, Maki invited herself to the party.

"Rin? You in here?", hollered Maki as she stepped into the club room in search of her friend but what she walked in on was a little more than she bargained for.

"R-rin?! Nico-chan?!... Is this what I think it is?!", said Maki with a hardcore blush on her cheeks. Her mind was in the gutter but who's wouldn't be? Nico's shirt was pulled half-way down her shoulders and her skirt was slipping off slightly. She was also panting heavily. Then there was Rin who was pinning her down. All in all, it didn't look very innocent.

Rin was the first to make a move. She repelled herself away from Nico and made her way over to where Maki was standing in an astonishingly short amount of time.

"H-hiya Maki-chan! What's up?", asked Rin cheerfully.

"Um... I was just checking on you because you seemed to be bothered by something before, but it looks like you worked everything out so I'll be leaving now. Nice bulldog look by the way."

Maki high-tailed it out of there. Rin yelled, "Wait!", but Maki was already gone, leaving Rin behind with Nico who had a case of "dead squid eyes" from that "traumatic" tickle attack she just withstood.

* * *

"Bulldog? Do I really look like a bulldog?", mumbled Rin to herself as she slinked back to where Nico was laying.

A faint "yes" could be heard coming from Nico's mouth. Rin shoved Nico with her foot but then she helped her up afterwards and they both went back to sitting at the table.

"That's just great. Now both Kayo-chin and Maki-chan think we're doing weird things together..." said Rin as she removed the rubber bands from her hair and began playing with them.

"So? Who cares what other people think? As long as you know the truth then it doesn't matter. And just so you know, there's absolutely nothing wrong with two girls doing things like that if they love each other. I'm not saying that we're like that though. I was just making a point."

Rin stared at Nico in awe. She never realized that "childish little Nico-chan" was this wise.

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

"I'm always right."

"Sure you are, Nico-chan." said Rin sarcastically.

"No really, I am. Anyway, I think it's about time we should start heading home. The sun's going to sleep soon."

"Okay... do you think we could walk together?"

"Don't we live in opposite directions?"

Rin bonked herself on the head comically and said,

"Oh duh! That was a stupid question."

"There are no such things as stupid questions but there are some inquisitive idiots.", replied Nico smugly.

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?!" Rin couldn't tell if Nico said some profound statement or if she was just making fun of her.

"It means exactly what it means. I'll see you tomorrow."

Nico was about to walk out of the the room when Rin grabbed onto one of her hands. This made her stop and turn around.

"Rin? What's the matter?"

Rin reached for Nico's other hand so now she was holding both of them out in front of her. She began speaking softly,

"I wanted to thank you again for helping me out today and I hope we can play together more from now on and talk about stuff and do fun things." The whole time she was talking, Rin stared at the ground.

"Look here."

Rin did as Nico told her to and raised her head up so she could see Nico's face which was a regular shade of white unlike her own which was now beet red from expressing her true feelings. Once they were making eye contact, Nico continued,

"Nico-Ni has plenty of love to share so you don't have to thank me each time I give you advice or do something for you. Alright?"

Rin nodded and let go of Nico's hands.

"Awesome. Now, I gotta go grab something from my classroom so you can go on ahead. Let's hang out again tomorrow. Same time, same place. That okay with you?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Great. Well then, it's a date."

"Yay! I look forward to it. See you later Nico-chan!" Rin waved goodbye and Nico waved back.

* * *

The warm light of dusk hung over Rin as she walked home. She walked with a merry swing in her step and swung her arms from side to side. On her wrists were Nico's green hair ties. Rin just now noticed that she still had them.

"Oops, I forgot to give these back to Nico-chan!... Maybe she'll let me keep them if I tell her that I want to grow my hair out."

Rin smiled to herself as she thought about everything that happened today and what could happen from now on.

* * *

**Afterword**

Were you expecting a NicoRin shopping date? I hope not because there isn't one... at least not yet. It didn't occur to me how misleading the first half of this chapter was until after I finished writing so... oops? But, I was thinking that when I'm done with this whole thing I'll hold some sort of poll and have people pick which couple I should write a continuation about. I won't include every couple on the poll, just the ones I think could use a continuation based on how the one-shot ended, like this one and KotoMaki for example.

Okay, thanks for reading and voting. I've noticed that I'm getting a lot of reviews that cast votes even after I announce the winner for that chapter. To avoid unnecessary review counts may I ask that you read the reviews for the current chapter before voting just to make sure a winner hasn't been picked yet? I mean, feel free to review and offer constructive criticism or whatever even after a winner has been picked because that's always useful and you can even talk about which pairings you like but I don't want reviews that simply say something like "TubaHonkers" after I already announce the winner because it sort of clogs up the review page. Is that mean of me to say? I'm sorry. Also, please read the rules before voting as well. Here they are:

[**Rules: 1.** The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter **2.** The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. **3.** If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. **4.** If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. **5.** No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) **6.** Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki, HonoMaki, NozoNico, HonoAnju, NozoUmi, UmiMaki, NozoMaki, NicoRin

Past winners: Bleach010915, kryuu27, Rin Hoshizora, VariantEiko, GATX105VividPanzer, Rakugei, elliemei, Kevincruelz, cielo oscuro, Bucchan, FanReader09, Schneezee, CJNOV


	14. NozoAnju Part 1

Ah, summer. The season marked by annoying bugs, heat strokes, and sunburns but who cares about all of those things when you've got a festival to go to! That's right, summer is also the time for festivals, fireworks, fun, and... fortunes?

Yes, this summer Nozomi set up a fortune telling booth at the annual summer festival in town. She didn't have anything better to do with her time so she figured that she could make a few bucks by predicting people's futures. One of her clients was none other than the fabulous Yuuki Anju of A-Rise.

Apparently Anju's buddies, Tsubasa and Erena, were visiting the food stalls. Anju wasn't hungry so she went off on her own to explore the other attractions the festival had to offer. There were those purposely addicting games and several shops selling useless junk but Anju wasn't interested in any of that. Instead, it was Nozomi's little booth that caught her eye. She always thought superstitious things were fascinating so she was naturally drawn to it.

When Anju approached Nozomi's businesses headquarters Nozomi greeted her with a smile.

"Hi there! Nice night isn't it?" The stars were twinkling and the moon was full and luminescent. Nozomi took a closer look at her customer and noticed that she was a rival of Muse.

"Hey, I know you! You're one of those A-Rise girls! Which one are you again?"

"Oh, um... I'm Anju. Hello. You're from Muse, right?"

"Uh-huh! The name's Nozomi."

Nozomi's eyes scanned Anju from head to toe like a predator sizing up its prey. She then said,

"My my, your yukata is so divine! Where did you get it?" The rainbow striped traditional dress that Anju was wearing was quite a sight. It appeared to be made of high quality materials and was stitched together masterfully. It was almost like the technicolor coat that Joseph received in the Bible.

"Nice to meet you, Nozomi-san. Actually, I made this yukata myself." Anju was flattered that someone complimented her handiwork.

"That's amazing! Y'know, I'd like to look at it a little longer so why don't you take a seat here and let me tell your fortune. I usually charge money for it but since I like ya I'll waive the fee."

"Are you sure that's alright?"

"It's fine. This is my own business after all."

"I see... Well then, I'll try it. Thank you very much."

* * *

Anju sat on a stool that was by the table. The table had a purple table cloth hanging over it and on top was Nozomi's arsenal of psychic equipment including things like a crystal ball, a ouiji board, and a deck of tarot cards. There were also a few unscented tee-light candles to add the atmosphere.

"Okay, let us begin." said Nozomi as she reached for the ouiji board and centered it in the middle of the table. Then she placed this black, heart shaped token about the size of a poker chip onto the board.

"This is a ouiji board.", explained Nozomi. "It's a medium to the spirit world. Ask it anything and you shall receive an answer. If you'd rather not ask a question you may simply choose to let it guide your path. To start, place your finger on the planchet."

Anju put her finger on the cold, metallic object. She didn't have any particular question in mind so she waited for the board to spell out something but nothing happened. Anju pointed out the obvious.

"Excuse me, but this thing isn't moving..."

"Oh yeah, we forgot to recite the opening prayer! It won't move unless we say it together. Close your eyes and repeat after me."

Anju closed her eyes like she was told to. Nozomi took advantage of Anju's temporary blindness and picked up a stick with what seemed to be a magnet on one end of it from underneath her chair. Then she quickly slipped the hand she was holding it with under the table and started praying, with Anju quietly chanting along.

"Oh great spirits of old... I summon your presence now... For I seek your wisdom today... in hopes that it may aid me tomorrow..."

Suddenly the planchet began to slide across the board with Anju's finger still on it but it wasn't her that was propelling it. This caused her to open her eyes both out of astonishment and out of curiosity because she wanted to see where the heart piece was dragging her hand to.

The first letter was "D" then "E", "A", "T", and finally "H".

"Death?! Am... Am I going to die?!" Anju gave Nozomi a very worried look. This made Nozomi feel guilty, but only a little bit.

"No! You aren't going to die!... At least, I don't think you are."

Anju made an even more distressed face.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just playing a prank. This is what I used." Nozomi showed Anju the magnet stick and explained how she was able to manipulate the other magnet through the table.

"Why would you do that though?" Anju wanted to know the motives behind Nozomi's actions.

"Because it's fun."

"You must have a lot of free time."

"Hey! That wasn't very nice!... Anyway, would you like to do it for real this time?"

Any sensible person would've turned around and left at this point but Anju stayed because, just like her prank, Nozomi had a magnetic personality.

"I suppose so. No more tricks, right?"

"Can't promise you that."

Anju raised her eyebrows.

"Alright, no more tricks. This is the real deal." Nozomi acquired something from under her chair yet again and put it on the table. It was another heart shaped object that was the same size as the magnet but this one was made of wood.

"Let's try this again. Put your finger on it like you did before."

Anju followed Nozomi's instructions.

"Good. Now, I'm going to keep my hands on the table so you know that I'm not up to anything sneaky. As for you, I want you to take a few deep breaths and just focus on the planchet. Try not to think of anything else."

It was tough but Anju was able to clear her conscious mind of any intruding thoughts. Once this was achieved, the piece of wood began to maneuver across the board to spell out a word. This time it was the spirits' doing, not Nozomi's.

The word that they chose was "collision".

"Collision? What is that supposed to mean?", asked Anju who had the right to question her own destiny.

"Perhaps they are saying that you should be careful not to bump into anything.", suggested Nozomi.

"Oh, okay. I'll be more cautious I guess."

"That's always a smart thing to do."

"Yeah..."

Nozomi and Anju just awkwardly stared at each other for a few seconds. Then Nozomi smiled in a cutesy manner, leaned over the table, and grabbed on to the left side of Anju's chest like it was the most normal thing to do at the moment.

Some of the people walking by turned their heads. They couldn't believe what happened and neither could Anju. She didn't have a chance to register what was going on before Nozomi retreated back to her own chair and politely folded her hands. Again, they were staring at each other but this time Anju's mouth was open and her face was gradually getting redder and redder.

"Breast reading." Nozomi broke the silence by saying something strange.

"Excuse me?" Anju was finally able to talk.

"It's like palm reading but more accurate because the breast is closer to the heart than the palm of your hand is."

"I honestly don't know how to respond to that..." admitted Anju flatly.

"That's okay because I know exactly how you are feeling based on the reading I just did. According to my calculations it seems that you find life to be repetitive and, at times, rather unfulfilling. You like the repetition but you desire another variable in your repetitive cycle. Having this variable will ease some of your emotional distress and allow you to enjoy life to the fullest."

"Wow, that sounds just like me. But I have to ask, what is this 'variable' that you're talking about?"

"Well, it varies. That's why it's called a variable."

"Oh..."

"Yup. Just be on the lookout for something new."

"Okay, I will, but I should really get going now. My friends are probably waiting for me."

"Really? You should invite them over here! There's a game I want to play that's more fun if there are multiple people."

"A game? What kind of game?"

"A card game. The winner gets to make a wish."

"I can ask them if they want to play or not. Hold on, I'll be right back."

Nozomi sent her off with a wave; unsure of whether or not Anju would return.

* * *

"Where could they be?", thought Anju as she weaved her way through crowds of people who were walking in the opposite direction. She was extra aware of her surroundings after what Nozomi told her today.

Eventually she found her friends browsing a mask display. One of masks hanging up was a purple tribal mask with piercing, yellow eyes and 10 spikes coming out of the sides. It radiated an evil aura that made Anju keep her distance from it.

She yelled out to Tsubasa and Erena,

"Hey you guys! Come here!"

They turned around and saw their companion on the other side of the human highway. After checking both ways, they crossed over and reunited with Anju.

"Long time no see!" said Tsubasa. She hugged Anju tightly as if she had just found her lost child.

"I've only been gone for like 15 minutes, Tsubasa."

"Well, I still missed you. What have you been up to? Erena and I were looking at these cool masks. One looked like a fox and another one looked like a froggy. Oh, and..." Tsubasa went on and on about all of the different masks she saw but Anju stopped paying attention and tapped Erena on the shoulder.

"Erena, do you want to play a game with me?"

"Like that shooting gallery one or...?"

"No, it's a card game. Someone I just met at the festival wanted to play it and she needs more people. Do you want to join us?"

"I guess so. Where is this person?"

"Follow me." Anju took Erena's hand and led the way. Meanwhile, Tsubasa was still talking to the air but she soon realized that her friends left her behind. She caught a glimpse of two girls with purple and orange hair, ran up to them from behind, and put her arms around their shoulders.

"What the hell?! Why did you disappear like that?! That was rude!" said Tsubasa angrily.

The two girls looked at Tsubasa and Tsubasa looked at them. Everyone was very confused.

"Uh, do we know you?" asked the orange haired girl whose face didn't resemble Anju's whatsoever.

"Do you want to know me?", replied the overly friendly Tsubasa.

"You're weird. Leave us alone.", said the purple haired girl as her and the other snooty girl walked away.

"Wow, those people were mean... but never mind them. I need to find Erena and Anju!"

* * *

Sure enough, Tsubasa located Erena and Anju. She asked where they were going but neither of them answered because they were already at Nozomi's booth. Tsubasa wanted to touch the glassy surface of crystal ball that was tempting her on the table but Erena blocked her by extending her arm.

"Oh, are these your friends? They're so cute!" remarked Nozomi.

"Aw, you're making me blush! Hey Anju, is this your girlfriend? She's such a flirt!" said Tsubasa with good intentions but bad intuition.

"C-cut it out! It's nothing like that! I just met Nozomi-san not long ago."

The name "Nozomi" sounded familiar to Erena so she questioned the person who possessed it.

"Pardon me miss, but do you happen to be the Nozomi Tojo of Muse? I feel like I've heard your name and seen your face before."

"You are absolutely correct, Erena-san! I am the one and only Nozomi Toujo."

Erena was surprised that Nozomi knew her name.

"Nice to meet you... Um, Anju told me that you wanted to play some kind of card game with us. Is this true?"

"It most certainly is true. I want to play Go Wish. It's like Go Fish but you play it with tarot cards and the winner gets to make a wish. The goal is to make sets of the same suits of cards by drawing from a pile or taking them from someone. I'll explain the rules in depth as we go. Are you in?"

"Yes, that sounds fun." Erena then shouted out to Tsubasa and Anju who were rough-housing because Tsubasa started getting rowdy.

"Knock it off children! Do you want play or not?" They nodded and Nozomi giggled. Anju felt like an idiot for acting so immature in front of Nozomi but she got over it when they started playing the game.

* * *

Everyone had a splendid time. Tsubasa was accused of cheating once and Anju had some trouble grasping the rules at first but overall, it was an enjoyable experience. You'd think that Nozomi would let one of the A-Rise girls win but no. Nozomi was crowned the winner and she made her wish. What that wish was is a secret... for now.

"Good game girls!", congratulated Nozomi with excellent sportsmanship as she shook everyone's hands. You can tell a lot about a person from their handshake. Nozomi's was gentle and warm and Anju's was generally firm but there was a hint of delicacy mixed in.

It was then time for the A-Rise girls to leave and Tsubasa and Erena thanked Nozomi for the game and started drifting away but Anju wanted to personally show Nozomi her gratitude.

"Thank you for today, Nozomi-san. Although I didn't appreciate it when you touched me like that, I'm glad that I got to meet you and I am amazed by your fortune telling skills."

"Don't mention it. This is just part of the job."

Anju knew that Nozomi was trying to be humble but she could also tell that Nozomi felt very blessed.

"Heheh, well then... I have to get going now. Goodbye."

With that said, Anju met up with her friends again. Tsubasa relentlessly teased her about Nozomi being her "summer fling" and Anju repeatedly denied all claims, but who knows though; maybe a development like that could happen down the line but as Nozomi would most likely say, it all amounts to fate.

* * *

This was part 1 of 2 of the NozoAnju story. I split it into separate parts for several reasons: 1. I wanted to update this fic sooner than later. 2. This story is probably going to be a little longer than the majority of them. 3. I like to leave people hanging.

Part 2 is planned out and stuff but the technical details are still in the works. If you guys dislike that I did this (split one story into two different parts) then tell me because I won't do it again.

Just so you know, I am not educated in the art of fortune telling (quick google search research doesn't count) so there are probably errors all over the place in regards to that. Please overlook them because there are more important things to nitpick... like lice eggs. Those are nasty. Also, there will be no voting this time because I said so. (Wait for part 2!)

I guess this is farewell my dear readers. The time will come for us to rendezvous once more but until then, try not to die or get food poisoning or become cursed by the toilet ghost or whatever.


	15. NozoAnju Part 2

Anju woke up the next morning feeling like the events from last night were just a mere dream. She had a hard time believing that she met Nozomi under those conditions and that Nozomi was somewhat of a perverted weirdo. Nozomi always looked pretty normal in Muse's promotional posters and videos and she performed just as well as everyone else did so her unusual behavior yesterday caught Anju off guard.

There wasn't much time for Anju to continue thinking about Nozomi because she was late for school. Actually, she was extremely late because her alarm clock "decided not to go off". (aka: she forgot to set it). Somehow she managed to change into her uniform, brush whatever needed to be brushed, and grab something to eat. The food would have to be eaten on the way to school due to time constrictions but Anju took care not to make toast because toast is just too cliched. Instead she chose cold, leftover fish from the fridge and dashed out the door.

With a piece of fish hanging out of her mouth, Anju looked like a cat as she ran down the sidewalk towards UTX. She approached a corner and turned it. Surprisingly, she didn't bump into her future soul-mate so she kept going... and going and going and going. She would've kept going even further but someone called out to her from the other side of the street.

"Oi, Anju-san! Ohayo!" It was Nozomi who was also on her way to school. She was accompanied by her friends Nico and Eli. Nico looked like she was about to cross the road to ask for Anju's autograph or something but Eli pulled on one of her pigtails to keep her in line. Anju would've said "good morning" back but she still had the fish in her mouth so she simply waved and moved along.

After seeing Nozomi again, Anju remembered what Nozomi told her the previous night about being cautious of collisions. Whether or not the advice was truthful was trivial but Anju took it to heart because Nozomi was pretty spot on with her "breast reading". This meant that her other fortunes were probably correct as well and so far Anju hadn't run into anything... at least not that she was aware of, but she was running out of time before the school bell rang so she had to pick up the pace.

* * *

At last, the school was in sight. Anju raced inside as fast as she could and speed-walked down the hallways of UTX towards her classroom because running in the halls was forbidden and Anju wasn't the type of person who broke rules.

Upon entrance, Anju noticed that the classroom wasn't quite as full as she expected it to be which meant that she wasn't late after all. Still, she was unnecessarily out of breath when she sat down at her desk.

Tsubasa, who was at the desk adjacent to Anju, saw that her friend was panting heavily. She was concerned (and nosy) so she talked to Anju to get some inside information.

"You okay? Why are you breathing so hard? Is it because you were with Nozomi-san just n- ow!" Erena, who sits in front of Tsubasa, turned around and gave Tsubasa a chop on the head.

"Hey, what was that for?!" grumbled Tsubasa while rubbing the now inflamed area of her head.

"Quit teasing her."

"But I ship NozoAnju so hard!"

"Don't get real people involved in your little fantasies. It's bad enough that you already pair up cartoon characters together."

"Mind your own business, Erena."

Erena scoffed at Tsubasa's hypocrisy, turned her attention to Anju, and said to her,

"What's going on? Are you alright?

When Anju regained composure she explained to everyone what really happened to clear up any misconceptions.

"Ahaha! You hurried for nothing then? What a dork!" Another blow to the head was given to Tsubasa by Erena.

"Again?! Erena! You're being really mean! Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?... Wait, if I remember correctly, your bed is against a wall so you have to wake up on the same side every day. No wonder why you're so crabby all the time."

"For your information, I rearranged my room last week and now my bed isn't against the wall anymore so your argument is invalid."

"Well, I wasn't trying to get in an argument but if that's what you want then bring it on!"

While those two were pointlessly squabbling, Anju thought about the errands that she needed to attend to when school was dismissed. She made some mental notes to stop by the library and the grocery store on the way home.

When she finished her thoughts, the bell rang, indicating that classes were about to begin. This meant that Anju had to shove these notes into the file cabinets in the back of her mind to focus on taking more equally unexciting notes on paper.

* * *

"Hey Anju, wanna do karaoke with us? Erena said that we need to work on our singing more."

School had ended for the UTX students and Tsubasa and Erena invited Anju to a karaoke session. As much as she loved to sing, Anju had to decline.

"I'm sorry, but I have some things to take care of."

"Ah, I gotcha. Good luck. I support you all the way.", said Tsubasa with a wink followed by a thumbs-up. Anju couldn't figure out why Tsubasa responded like that but she didn't feel like dwelling on it.

"Uh... yeah, thanks. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Anju left school and started her fetch quest. It made the most sense to have her first destination be the library rather than the grocery store; not because it was the closest to the school's building or because the refrigerated goods could spoil in the summer heat, but because carrying around meat and vegetables while browsing for books would look silly.

It would've been more convenient for Anju to go to UTX's library but, unfortunately, they didn't have the book she wanted. That's ironic because the book she wanted was for a school project about why school libraries are inferior to public libraries.

When Anju got to the local library, she didn't start searching for her book right away. Actually, that would've been a near impossible and/or a very unproductive activity. That is because you have to walk inside of the library to check out books, therefore, the first thing Anju did when she got to the library was open the door and on the other side of it, in the back of the room on a sofa, was a Nozomi.

This Nozomi was the same Nozomi that Anju had personally met yesterday and saw again on the way to school. Now Anju was seeing her again for a third time and Nozomi saw Anju as well.

"Oh look, it's Anju-san again! Hi!", greeted Nozomi, a bit too loudly for a library setting. This made the librarian "shh" at Nozomi.

"Sorry ma-am..." apologized Nozomi sheepishly.

At this point, everyone in the proximity was staring at the newcomer that Nozomi called out to. Anju wasn't sure if she should just leave or if she should try to shake off the embarrassment and go get her book.

In the end, Anju deemed her project more important than her dignity so she decided to stay. As she was heading towards the bookshelves, Nozomi tried to summon her again but a lot more quietly.

"Psst, Anju-san, over here!"

To avoid extra unwanted attention, Anju went over to were Nozomi was at. She wasn't really in the mood for a conversation at the moment and Nozomi could sense that so she didn't keep Anju for too long.

"Hey Nozomi-san, what's up?"

"Just Nozomi is fine. Anyway, sorry about embarrassing you like that. I just wanted to say hello. I'm kinda surprised to see someone else under 50 years old here. This library is mainly full of old folk but I find that to be sort of relaxing.

"Yeah."

"Well, you probably came here for a reason so I'll let you go for now."

"Yes, I need to check out a book for my project."

"Oh really? What kind of project are you doing?"

"Just a research paper on libraries."

"I see... The non-fiction books are over there in case you didn't know." Nozomi pointed towards a certain area of the library.

"Thanks." Anju was unfamiliar with this library so Nozomi's piece of information saved her some hassle.

"No problem. I guess I'll see you around then."

* * *

_**(Nozomi's POV)**_

Her own words rang true because Nozomi happened to be walking around the same grocery store that Anju went to soon after she got her book. She wasn't aware that Anju was at the store yet though.

One of the item's on Nozomi's shopping list was pork so she went to the deli to get some. The person behind the counter was none other than Nico Yazawa, an Otonokizaka idol and one of Nozomi's best friends.

"Niku Niku Nii!", said Nico in a fake cheerful voice. "How may I-" she stopped in her tracks when she noticed that it was Nozomi.

"Oh, it's just you."

"Nicochi, you should treat your customers with more respect."

"You aren't a customer though."

"Oh but I am! I need you to get me some pork... Hmm, this kind looks good. I want some of that." Nozomi pointed at a particularly savory looking piece of pig.

"Alright, just gimme a sec. I need to cut it for you."

It was weird to Nozomi to see cute little Nico with a giant knife. She watched in awe as her friend carefully sliced the meat. She didn't watch her for that long because she sensed a presence behind her. Somebody else was in line for the deli and that somebody was Anju.

"Oh wow, long time no see!", said Nozomi jokingly.

"My my, we sure are seeing each other a lot today. What a coincidence."

"Are you sure that it's just a coincidence?" Nozomi winked. Anju didn't say anything back and Nozomi faced forward again because Nico informed her that her meat was ready.

* * *

On the way home, Anju replayed what happened at the store in her mind. The girl at the deli who she found out was Nico Yazawa of Muse had asked for her autograph. That wasn't the most eventful thing that happened though. It was Nozomi's question that made more of an impact.

It left her paranoid. She had a feeling that Nozomi was possibly stalking her in some way. Every now and then she glanced into bushes and alleyways to make sure nobody was there and eventually she made it home.

It was already evening so she decided to start preparing dinner. Since Anju came from a relatively wealthy family, there were maids who normally cooked meals but Anju didn't trust these maids. They were recently hired by her parents and they had a sinister aura surrounding them. She was afraid that they might poison her food so she opted out of eating anything that they made.

Even though she stayed away from the entrées and side dishes that everyone else ate, she still sat in the dining room with her family. Today, however, she missed dinner and her parents were not pleased. A fight broke out and Anju fled the scene to go to her favorite shrine. It had a serene atmosphere which radiated with spiritual power. Praying there always brought her peace.

* * *

"Ahh, much better.", said Anju after she finished her prayers. As she left the alter, a shadowy figure emerged out of the darkness of the night.

It made footstep noises against the stone ground as it slowly creeped up to Anju, who was unaware of its existence. Suddenly, it reached out a hand and touched Anju's arm.

"Eeeekk! W-who's there?!" shouted Anju after falling down from the electrocuting jolt of fear that the entity unleashed upon her. She was now paralyzed in terror.

"Relax, it's just me."

Nozomi took a small keychain with a flashlight on it out of her pocket and shined it into her face so that Anju could see her, like how people do at sleep-overs when they tell ghost stories.

"Oh... Nozomi? You gave me quite a fright. What are you doing here?" asked Anju as Nozomi helped her stand up after turning off the flashlight. Anju ditched the "san" like Nozomi requested her to do before.

"Eheheh, sorry about that. Your scream is kinda cute. Anyway, as you can see by my miko outfit, I work here."

Anju didn't notice Nozomi's clothes earlier but Nozomi was indeed wearing shrine maiden garments. She was also holding a broom.

"Isn't it kind of late to be working?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Isn't it kind of late to be visiting a shrine? It dangerous for a young, pretty girl to be outside alone."

"Aren't you a young, pretty girl as well?"

"I don't know about pretty but I suppose I am fairly young. Don't worry about me though because I have a means of defending myself." Nozomi took a few steps back and began rapidly twirling her broom around. Someone could seriously get hurt if they were in its path.

Anju clapped at Nozomi's performance.

"Woah, impressive! I definitely wouldn't want to get hit by that thing. Also, don't say that you aren't pretty. You're very beautiful, especially in this moonlight."

The clouds were covering the moon a few moments ago but now the sky was crystal clear.

"Aw, how sweet of you to say!"

"I'm just telling the truth. Um anyway, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, fire away."

"You know how we kept running into each other today?"

Nozomi nodded.

"Well, could it be because you were... stalking me?"

All Anju could hear were some crickets and Nozomi's giggling.

"What's so funny?"

"Here, sit down on the stairs. I'll explain what I think is going on."

* * *

They both sat down next to each other on the top flight of the shrine's stairs. Once they were situated, Nozomi began her explanation with a question.

"Okay, remember when we played that card game yesterday and I won so I got to make a wish?"

"I do."

"Well, my wish came true! I wished that we could see each other again. Also, I believe that the 'collision' fortune had to do with our rendezvous too. We didn't collide physically but we did sort of 'run into each other' a lot."

"Really? That makes sense. It's so cool that you can predict the future like that, Nozomi. I was skeptical at first but now I can seriously believe how on-point you are."

"You're giving me too much credit. I only transmit the messages I receive from the spirits above."

"Even so, being able to do that is a gift."

"Yes, it really is and I am very thankful for it."

Now that everything was ironed out, the girls just stared into the distance at the miraculous view. They could see both Otonokizaka and Akihabara since the shrine was located at a high altitude. You could tell how different the town and the city were from each other but it didn't matter because blanketed beneath the stars, their individual beauty complimented each other nicely, just like how Nozomi and Anju's did.

They came from separate backgrounds and had different personalities but they still had some things in common. For example, they were both idols and they shared the same love for this shrine. Could it be that they also shared the same feelings for each other?

"Hey Anju, could you look at me real quick?"

"Sure, what is it?"

This was Nozomi's chance. She went in for a kiss. Anju didn't pull away or anything but Nozomi didn't overstay her welcome so she ended it a few seconds later with a smile.

Anju brought her hand up to her own lips. This was her first kiss. She was shocked that Nozomi stole it from her but at at the same time, she didn't mind at all. Still, she had to ask what the motive behind it was.

"Nozomi?... What was that for?"

"I dunno... My heart me told me that it was the right thing to do at that moment. Perhaps it was divine intervention. Regardless, I want to be able to meet you again, even without making anymore wishes."

"Yes, I would like that very much."

* * *

**Afterword**

Miss me? I was on vacation in Neotopia so I haven't had the chance to write all that much. Sorry about that, but here's the second part of the NozoAnju story. I'll be writing these chapters in single bursts from now on because it's more professional I think. Alrighty then, let's commence the voting once again.

[**Rules: 1.** The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter **2.** The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. **3.** If your ship already has a chapter about them, I won't make another one about them. **4.** If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. **5.** No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) **6.** Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki, HonoMaki, NozoNico, HonoAnju, NozoUmi, UmiMaki, NozoMaki, NicoRin, NozoAnju

Past winners: Bleach010915, kryuu27, Rin Hoshizora, VariantEiko, GATX105VividPanzer, Rakugei, elliemei, Kevincruelz, cielo oscuro, Bucchan, FanReader09, Schneezee, CJNOV, Farcast


	16. TsuHono

On this lovely Sunday afternoon Honoka was at the park feeding some birds. However, her mood was less than "lovely". You could tell something was off with her because she was sharing her bread. Normally Honoka was very possessive of her bread.

"Hello little guy, would you like some too?"

A goose strutted up to Honoka who was sitting on a waterfront bench and began pecking at the bread that was torn into bite sized pieces in Honoka's hand.

"Hehe, that tickles!" Honoka giggled but her laughter quickly faded into a somber frown when she saw all the other geese eating the food that she sprinkled on the ground. She then asked the goose that she was feeding,

"Hey... do you ever get lonely, even when you're with all your friends?"

"Sure, doesn't everyone once in a while?"

"Woah, did you just talk?!"

"Uh yeah...?"

"So geese can talk?!"

"Who are you callin' a goose?"

Honoka noticed a pair of running shoes approaching her so she looked up and towering over her was Tsubasa from A-Rise. Upon seeing her, Honoka sat up straight (well, as straight as a gay girl could get anyway) on the bench and the goose ran away, honking all the while.

"Oh sorry, did I interrupt something?", asked Tsubasa.

"No, it's okay."

"That's good. Hey, do you mind if I sit next to you. I've been doing some jogging and I'm a little tired."

"Go ahead."

Tsubasa sat down but she sat near the edge of the bench, far enough to give Honoka some personal space.

"It's rare to see you out by yourself, Honoka-san." This comment struck Honoka hard as she remembered why she was alone in the first place. It was a good thing that Tsubasa followed up with a question.

"So, what are you doing today?"

"Nothing."

"I see... Sounds exciting."

"Yup."

Both of them let out a sigh simultaneously which made Tsubasa crack a smile but Honoka's expression didn't change. Tsubasa was worried that she was imposing on Honoka so she decided to leave.

"Um, I think I better get going now. It was nice seeing you."

As Tsubasa stood up Honoka grabbed her wrist and said sweetly,

"Please stay...?"

"You need some company, huh?"

Honoka nodded.

"Thought so. Alright, I'll stay."

Tsubasa sat back down but this time she was closer to Honoka. For a little while they just stared out at the glistening lake in front of them and watched the sun's reflection dance on the natural wakes of the water. It was very tranquil.

Out of the blue, Honoka turned to Tsubasa and offered her the leftover pieces of bread that she forgot she was holding.

"Want some?"

"What is it?"

"Bread. It looks kinda funny since I tore it up to feed the geese but it still tastes good."

"Oh, no thanks..." Tsubasa was grossed out that Honoka would even let somebody eat food that was probably covered in avian saliva but it's the thought that counts.

Honoka threw the rest of bread on the ground so the birds could snack on it.

"I wouldn't mind having some ice-cream though. I saw a vendor selling it while I was running earlier. In fact, it's right over there." Tsubasa pointed at a stand in the distance. "Would you like some, Honoka-san?"

Honoka's eyes lit up "Yeah!", but then they got dull again. "Wait, I don't have any money on me."

"Don't worry, I'll pay for it. You seem to be having a rough day so it's the least I can do."

"Really?! Thanks Tsubasa-san!"

"No problem. I'll go get it. Just tell me which flavor you'd like."

Honoka brainstormed a whole list of flavors that she liked but she couldn't pick just one so she decided to leave the fate of her ice-cream in Tsubasa's hands (literally as well because Tsubasa would have to hold it to bring it to her).

"Surprise me."

"Feeling adventurous today huh? Alright, I'll surprise you. Be right back."

While she was waiting in line, Tsubasa glanced over at Honoka and saw that she was swinging her legs back and forth in excitement. This made Tsubasa grin and think to herself, "How cute. She's just like a little kid."

* * *

"Here you go. It's red pepper flavored."

Tsubasa returned and gave Honoka her ice-cream but Honoka was a little reluctant to take it after she heard what kind it was. She despised peppers with a passion.

"Thanks..."

While Tsubasa was licking away at what appeared to be chocolate ice-cream, Honoka just eyeballed her own frozen treat with disgust.

"What's the matter, Honoka-san? It'll melt if you don't eat it."

"Right, I'll eat it now." Honoka slowly inched the cone towards her mouth and hesitantly stuck her tongue out with her eyes shut tight. When the ice-cream finally reached its destination Honoka was pleasantly surprised.

"Mm, this is yummy! It doesn't taste like pepper though. It's more of a fruity flavor."

"That's because it's strawberry flavored. Even if they had pepper ice-cream I wouldn't get it for you since I know that you hate peppers."

"H-how did you know that?! That's supposed to be a secret!"

"You said it yourself on School Idol Festival. I have a UR of you as my main and it says it on the home screen." Tsubasa didn't mention that she exclusively collects Honoka cards and tries to idolize each one.

"Seriously? I don't remember ever saying that though. I must have forgotten about it. More importantly, you play SIF, Tsubasa-san?"

"Of course. Pretty much everyone I know does. Don't you play it too?"

"Well, I used to. I'm no good at it so I stopped playing. Plus it's weird to see yourself in a video game."

"Yeah, that would be strange."

The girls concentrated on finishing their ice-cream but Honoka ended up not eating all of hers even though she thought she did.

"Uh, Honoka-san? You got some on your cheek right there."

"Huh? Where?" Honoka was swiping away at her face with no luck.

"Right..." Tsubasa wiped the ice-cream off with her finger and licked it clean. "...there. I got it."

"T-thanks..." Honoka was blushing hard enough that the ice-cream would've melted if it was still on her face.

"Wow, the strawberry really is tasty. Maybe I'll get that kind next time."

"Yeah..." Honoka began to look sad again and not because her ice-cream was gone.

"It might be none of my business but would you like to talk to me about what's bothering you?"

Honoka made eye contact with Tsubasa and then hung her head down.

"Nah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You don't look fine."

There was no response from Honoka.

"Listen, I know that we're rivals and you probably don't trust me but I'd like to change that and become friends. Would that be okay?"

"I guess so..."

"Awesome. You know, friends share their feelings with each other so you can tell me whatever is on your mind. Even if you don't consider me your friend yet it can still be therapeutic to talk to an outside source, so what do you say? Do you want to talk through this with me? If you don't you're going to be miserable for a while."

"I guess so..."

"Hey now, keep your head up."

Honoka thought that Tsubasa was simply encouraging her.

"No literally, put your head up. I can't see you."

"Oh, sorry."

"Ha! You're pretty silly Honoka-san. Anyway, earlier you said something to that goose about being lonely. What's that all about?"

"Are you saying that it's weird to talk to animals?"

"Well, that is a little odd but no. I'm wondering why you feel lonely, specifically when you're with your friends."

"I probably shouldn't be telling you this but a few days ago my best friends, Umi-chan and Kotori-chan, told me that they started dating. Actually, they're on a date right now"

"Really? That's some big news."

"Uh huh, and I wanted to be happy for them and support them but for some reason I can't bring myself to do so. I feel horrible about it."

"Are you perhaps in love with one of them?"

"No, that's not it. I just feel like a third-wheel around them now and I sometimes get jealous. Not to mention I get this pang of loneliness and I can't figure out why. It's really stressful."

"Hmm... " Tsubasa was doing some critical thinking indicated by her hand cradling her chin. Suddenly she had a breakthrough.

"Aha! I think I know what's wrong here."

"You do?" Honoka hoped that Tsubasa knew what she was talking about and that it wasn't a bunch of nonsense.

"Yes. You are envious of their relationship and you want to experience the same kind of happiness that they have. Also, some of the loneliness stems from the fact that you three have been together for so long and now Umi-san and Kotori-san are on a 'different level' of friendship than you, leaving you feeling somewhat excluded."

It blew Honoka's mind that Tsubasa was so wise in terms of sensing emotional dysfunction but she couldn't really understand what Tsubasa was trying to get at.

"What should I do then?"

"There are two things you can do, the first being riding out all of these emotions until you finally become used to everything."

Honoka did not like the idea of suffering for much longer.

"I dunno if I want to do that... What's the second thing?"

"The second thing is establishing your own romantic relationship with someone else."

"What?! I can't do that?! I don't even like anyone like that!"

"What if someone offered to go out with you? Would you accept?"

"That depends on who it is but probably not."

"Honoka-san, I know somebody that would be willing to date you. Would you like to meet them?"

"I don't see why not. Would we be doing this today or...?"

"Yeah, and it shouldn't take long since that person is already here."

Scouting around at all angles, Honoka searched the area for people. The only person she saw was an elderly gentleman walking down the sidewalk.

"You want me to go out with that old guy?!"

The man looked at Honoka with a toothless grin. This creeped Honoka out so she turned around right away.

"No you idiot! I'm talking about me!"

At first, Tsubasa's words didn't click with Honoka and she sat there dumbfounded.

"Um... I guess that means no then, huh?" Tsubasa sounded very disappointed.

"You... and me? Is that even possible?" muttered Honoka.

"Why not? You don't hate me, right? And to tell you the truth, I've admired you for a long time. I'm probably your biggest fan."

"Really? Oh wow, I don't know what to say right now."

Tsubasa rubbed Honoka's back to calm her down.

"Relax. Let's just take it slow for now. Here, I'll give you my phone number. Just call me later and we'll talk some more about it."

"Alright."

They both took out their phones and exchanged numbers.

"Promise to call me, Honoka-san?"

"Promise."

"Okay, you better keep your word. I gotta go home now though. See you soon?"

"See you soon."

"Great. Take care and keep your head up kid." Tsubasa stood up and patted Honoka's head.

"I will."

* * *

After only taking a few strides down the street, Tsubasa's phone rang. She answered it,

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me, Honoka."

"Honoka-san? I know I told you to call me later but isn't it a little too early yet?"

"Come back over here. I forgot to tell you something."

And so, Tsubasa walked back over to were Honoka was.

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to thank you for talking to me today. Please watch over me from now on.", said Honoka as she bowed and clapped her hands together.

"Geez Honoka-san, you don't have to be so formal. That's so out of character for you and I don't like it."

"Sorry..."

"Don't apologize. That's even worse."

"Sorry..."

"You're hopeless." Tsubasa sat back down on the bench and rested her head on Honoka's shoulder.

"I thought you were going home."

"Nah, you still need more of my company. I can tell."

"Are you sure you it's not _you_ who needs my company?"

"Hmm, maybe I do."

They both sighed at the same time again but now Honoka was able to smile about it too.

* * *

**Afterword**

Hello all you Love Livers out there. (That kinda sounds like "love livers" like you love livers as in the organ liver.) To tell you the truth, this chapter really got on my nerves; not because I don't like TsubaHono (I like TsubaHono) but because all of my progress got deleted when I was halfway through it so I had to start all over again. I thought about just giving up but if I did, Honoka and the rest of Muse would get mad at me so I put my behind in the past (Lion King joke) and redid it.

I'm not sure if they have geese in Japan but I just had to put a goose in there because geese honk and so does Honoka. Alright, that's all from me. Let's get some votes in shall we? Here are the rules:

[**Rules: 1.** The first person to put their desired pairing in their review wins the vote for the next chapter **2.** The term, "non-popular pairing" will apply to any shipping besides NicoMaki, RinPana, NozoEli, EliUmi, HonoKoto, HonoUmi, KotoUmi, and HonoKotoUmi. **3.** If your ship already has a chapter about them I won't make another one about them. **4.** If I already wrote a chapter about a ship you suggested then I won't write about another one about a different pairing that you suggested if you happen to vote again for some reason. **5.** No threesomes (or foursomes, or fivesomes, etc.) **6.** Guest reviews don't count (They do for review purposes, just not for voting. It's because there is a possibility that the same person could use a different guest name in different chapters. Not saying that any of you will do that though but I just want to be sure.)]

Ships covered: HonoEli, MakiEli, NicoEli, NicoPana, NicoUmi, KotoMaki, HonoMaki, NozoNico, HonoAnju, NozoUmi, UmiMaki, NozoMaki, NicoRin, NozoAnju, TsubaHono

Past winners: Bleach010915, kryuu27, Rin Hoshizora, VariantEiko, GATX105VividPanzer, Rakugei, elliemei, Kevincruelz, cielo oscuro, Bucchan, FanReader09, Schneezee, CJNOV, Farcast, Firecaster-Hikaru


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